Second Chances | Horse Racing Free Tips

Second Chances: Quality Road Midlantic Topper ‘Could Be Real Deal’

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

After getting checked sharply in the early stages of his belated unveiling at Fair Grounds last weekend, $1.5-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic topper Vinco (c, 3, Quality Road–Stormy Welcome, by Storm Cat) produced a serious rally from last to finish a strong second Jan. 22 (video).

Off at a well-supported 7-2 sporting a 13-strong worktab for the patient Dallas Stewart barn dating back to late October, the West Point Thoroughbreds and Gervais Racing, LLC colorbearer was away in good order from his rail draw, but after taking a bump from a rival approaching the five-eighths marker and subsequently steadying beneath Brian Hernandez, Jr., dropped back abruptly to caboose the field of nine through an opening quarter in :22.15.

Finally re-emerging in the picture while still trailing by plenty as they straightened, Vinco began to roll in the stretch, impressively threading his way through the pack to come home in a field-best :12.65 and finish 2 3/4 lengths adrift fellow firster Ferociously (Violence). Vinco earned a 59 Beyer Speed Figure in the six-furlong affair.

“It was a situation where I'm glad he didn't get hurt,” Stewart said. “One horse hit another horse and that horse hit us, and knocked us up against the rail and we had to check out of there. It's just one of them things, but he came back running. He ran a big race just like we thought he would. I think he would've won easy if it didn't happen, but that's neither here nor there.

Looking ahead, Stewart added, “We're gonna stretch out probably for his next start. If you watch the replay, he galloped out with the winner. We'll see how he trains first and see how it goes. If everything goes good, we'll come back on [GII] Risen Star day [Feb. 19]. If he needs more time, I'll give him more time. We took a lot of time with him coming out of the sale. We think he's a really nice horse. Like I was telling [West Point's] Terry Finley, let's make a career of it. He could be the real deal.”

Vinco topped last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale after breezing an eighth in a powerful :10 from the Eddie Woods consignment on behalf of breeder Jon Clay's Alpha Delta. His third dam is bluehen mare Weekend Surprise (Secretariat), who, of course, produced the breed-shaping sire and Horse of the Year A.P. Indy.

Alpha Delta purchased Vinco's dam Stormy Welcome (Storm Cat) for $600,000 at the 2015 KEENOV sale. The unraced daughter of Welcome Surprise (Seeking the Gold) was previously a $1.6 million KEESEP yearling.

The Quality Road over Storm Cat cross is also responsible for three-time graded winner and young sire Blofeld. Vinco is bred similarly to Quality Road's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hootenanny; MGSW & MGISP Dr Post; and GSW & GISP Great Stuff, who were all produced by daughters of Storm Cat's Hennessy.

Previous standouts featured in 'Second Chances' include: two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner and Lane's End stallion Honor A. P. (Honor Code), MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GIII Las Virgenes S. heroine Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner and MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), GI Frizette S. third-place finisher A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) and Discovery S. runner-up Speaker's Corner (Street Sense).

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Second Chances: Arrogate Colt ‘Could be a Player in 3yo Ranks’

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

Backed as the 9-5 favorite in his six-furlong unveiling for John Sadler at Del Mar Nov. 28, Got Thunder (c, 2, Arrogate–Ask the Question, by Silver Deputy) stamped himself as one to watch with a very promising second-place finish.

The gray flashed good early speed from the fence while three of them lined up through an opening quarter in :22. Beginning to give way–or at least appearing to do so as the Bob Baffert-trained firster Newgrange (Violence) powerfully struck the front at the top of the stretch–Got Thunder wasn't done yet, however, and fought on gamely beneath Flavien Prat down the lane to keep the final margin at 1 1/2 lengths. He earned a 77 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

Got Thunder brought $750,000 from West Point Thoroughbreds and Talla Racing LLC after breezing an eighth in a bullet :10 flat from the Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent III, consignment at OBS Spring. He was previously a $155,000 Keeneland September yearling. Along with Woodford Racing, West Point and Michael Talla also joined forces on the $1.7-million Keeneland September yearling colt topper by City of Light.

“We were second to a horse that I know was well-meant–they think a lot of him,” West Point's Terry Finley said. “We loved this horse at the 2-year-old sale. Ciaran Dunne sold him and really thought he was a horse that had the potential to be a good one.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Got Thunder is a half-brother to Canadian champion and grassy MGISW Heart to Heart (English Channel) and the MGSP 3-year-old filly Lady Traveler (Quality Road). West Point campaigns the latter, second in this year's GIII Forward Gal S. and third in the GII Black-Eyed Susan S., in partnership. Calumet Farm purchased the winning 18-year-old mare Ask the Question with Got Thunder in utero for $150,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale.

The brilliant Arrogate, the richest North American racehorse in history, was humanely euthanized after suffering from an undetermined illness last June. He is represented thus far by 10 winners from his first crop to race. Got Thunder was Arrogate's most expensive 2-year-old colt sold at auction this year. An Arrogate filly out of Amen Hallelujah, now named Shailene, brought $1 million from Katsumi Yoshida at the same Ocala sale and just missed by a neck on debut late last month in Japan.

“We have his half-sister Lady Traveler, who is trained by Dale Romans, and has plenty of upside to her,” Finley said. “The family is there. Arrogate, unfortunately, we're not gonna see a ton of them, but you are going to start to see this crop establish themselves and come to the fore as we get to the end of the year and they get into their 3-year-old year.”

What's next for Got Thunder?

“We're excited to get him two turns,” Finley said. “He's got to come forward, but he's certainly giving John Sadler the indication that he could be a player in the 3-year-old ranks in 2022. He's generated a lot of excitement.”

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Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation: ‘When I Don’t See Them Returning To Prison, That Means Everything’

What inspires someone to fight for those who can't fight for themselves?

In the case of corrections officer Heidi Richards, she jokes that she has “selective hearing” when it comes to the word “No.” It took the horsewoman five long years to convince the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement an equine program at the Pleasant Valley State Prison, but Richards simply refused to give up.

“I kept on seeing inmates come back to prison,” Richards explained. “I fought so hard because I kept on seeing these kids come back. They were 20, 25, 30 years old and it's their second, third, fourth time coming back to prison. And I'm like, 'Why are you guys coming back to prison?' And they're like, 'Because you guys don't teach us anything.'”

Eight years later, Richards has founded a program that has seen zero of its graduates return to prison.

“About every three to four months I run their numbers, and when I don't see them returning to prison, that means everything,” Richards said. “Because it means every bit of hard work, every hour I donated to that program has paid off.”

A relative newcomer to the correctional system, Richards made the move from a position at Harris Ranch when her daughter was three years old. She wanted a job with more regular hours, and thought she might spend five years at the 40-hours-a-week gig.

Instead, Richards found she enjoyed the challenge.

Ten years in, Richards heard about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances program, which offers inmates the opportunity to learn how to work with horses, and decided to capitalize on her own horse experience to bring the program to California.

The TRF backed her right away, but the initial challenge was in convincing the Pleasant Valley warden to allow Richards to implement the program. After five years of wading through the red tape, the next challenge was in applying for the CDCR's Integrative Programming Grants. Only 52 grants were awarded throughout the entire state of California, and though Richards' was approved, it didn't include enough funding to pay for a project manager to put the whole program together.

“They were like, 'Well, it looks like we can't do it,'” Richard recalled. “And I was like, 'Oh, no, well, we can. We'll do this. It's going to happen.'”

Richards logged over 700 volunteer hours building the program from scratch.

“A lot of people helped me when I was a kid; people in the horse industry gave me horses, gave me tack, gave me lessons for free,” Richards said. “There were people who took me up to endurance races when I was like, 'I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I want to go do this race.' I had a lot of people volunteer their time to me and never charged me.

“I always said if I ever got the chance I wanted to give back too, so that's what I did.”

The program includes five of the TRF's herd of retired racehorses. The inmates, in groups of 15 at a time, care for the horses and take college-level classes in anatomy, injury treatment, nutrition, and other aspects of the care of horses. West Hills College pays the instructional fees, which opens the door to possible careers as farriers, veterinary assistants and caretakers.

“By doing this, this pulls them and this gives them something, an option to get out of the gang lifestyle,” said Richards. “It's something they've never even dreamed about, never even knew about, because most of the students I have in my class have never even touched a horse.”

Richards' efforts earned her the 2020 Correctional Officer of the Year Award from the CDCR. The award honors a person who serves as a positive role model and fosters an environment that supports a balance between professional development, professional job performance, and personal wellness.

Today, Richards is preparing to open similar programs at two more California prisons.

“I remember thinking, 'Maybe I could make a difference,'” she said. “When I got the first horse on the grounds, I was like, 'Okay, I did it.' And then to see my first class graduate and these guys go home, and not come back, that just means everything.”

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TRF To Host Worldwide Live Stream Event From Lowell On Oct. 21

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) will host a worldwide livestream event on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET, celebrating the transformative power of horses through the TRF Lowell 20th Anniversary Horse Show.

For two decades, the TRF and Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida have been engaged in a powerful public-private partnership focused on saving horses and changing lives through the TRF Second Chances program. The virtual event will bring viewers inside the horse farm at the Lowell facility and provide an unprecedented opportunity to experience the connection between the horses on the women currently participating in the program. The Lowell Horse Show will also shine a spotlight on several women who have successfully graduated from the program and gone on to brighter futures post-incarceration.

The live event will be co-hosted by Kim Weir, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at the TRF and Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA). The two organizations collaborate closely to raise the funds required to care for the 50 horses in the TRF herd at Lowell Correctional Institution. Weir and Powell will be joined by Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Trainer, Mark Casse; FoxSports Racing Analyst, Acacia Courtney; and Niall Brennan of Niall Brennan Stables. The global audience will be invited to participate in an interactive online Q & A at the event's conclusion.

“Everyone who works with and cares for horses knows that they make us better people. Without judgement, and without words, they teach us to be stronger, calmer, more present, more confident and more empathetic” shared Weir. “The Lowell Horse Show offers a unique window for the whole world to see, hear and feel the impact that the retired racehorses have on the lives of the women at Lowell. I believe that everyone who joins us on October 21st will be inspired, uplifted and perhaps more hopeful about the potential for Second Chances in our challenging world.”

There is no cost to view the event, which will be broadcast online to any connected device and streamed live on the TRF's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter feeds on October 21. A recording of the livestream will be available immediately following the event's conclusion.

Sponsorship for the TRF Lowell 20th Anniversary Horse Show has raised more than $50,000 toward the operating cost of the TRF program in Ocala. All sponsorship dollars are dedicated toward the cost of care of the 50 retired Thoroughbred racehorses in Ocala within the TRF national herd.

The Platinum Sponsors for the horse show are the Heider Family Foundation and Dr. Nick and Stephanie Meittinis. Gold sponsors include the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA), Mary and Gary West and Dr. Calvin E. Burgart. The Silver Sponsors are Jill and Bob Baffert, Churchill Downs Incorporated, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners & Blue Moon Aftercare.

Supporting sponsors include Bergen Stables, Brook Ledge Horse Transportation, Casse Racing, Jellyfish Water Company, Lazy Dog Cookie Company, Little Red Feather Racing, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Niall Brennan Stables and Polyflex Horseshoes.

Media Partners from across the Thoroughbred Industry have extended their support for the 2021 livestream event along with a diverse and enthusiastic team of Promotional Partners who have helped the TRF reach new audiences for this year's livestream event.

Last year, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation hosted a livestream horse show featuring the TRF Second Chances Program at the Blackburn Correctional Facility in Lexington, KY.

When: Thursday, October 21st 8:00 p.m. ET

Where: Worldwide, https://www.trfinc.org/event/trf-lowell-20th-anniversary-horse-show/

Direct Link to Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI3spYat2zE

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