Sporting his standard duds, including a ball cap, creased jeans and shades, Fincher has his modular phone slung on his belt, ready to be drawn from its holster.

“Busy,” replies the New-Mexico based trainer when asked about how it's all going. “It's just been such a non-stop crazy time, but coming back to Sunland Park, this is my bread and butter.”

Fincher returned only a week ago from his second Middle East junket which capped Senor Buscador's (Mineshaft) successful two-race sojourn to that part of the world. Unless you have resided under an igneous rock, then you know that Joey Peacock's 6-year-old stalwart won the G1 Saudi Cup and then finished third in the G1 Dubai World Cup.

“The experience was great and even though the result in Dubai wasn't what we wanted, everyone was incredibly welcoming,” he said. “Even in a race as big as that one was, I don't get disappointed because at least 75 percent of the time you are going to lose in racing, so getting down like I used to serves no purpose whatsoever.”

Don't misinterpret Fincher's words because he wanted Buscador to win the World Cup. He wants to win them all and badly. Feigning disappointment is his prosaic outlook shining through. You have to have this kind of attitude, which hails from a special place inside and comes from a host of life experiences.

Like a character out of an Ace Reid Cowpoke cartoon, the horseman has a thin build which is a reminder that he used to ride for a living. The mental toughness he developed in the saddle while breaking young horses and as a New Mexico jockey some 30 years ago has served him well, especially in a business like conditioning.

Todd Fincher (left) with Only One America in the Island Fashion S. | Coady Photography

“I'd win three races riding and think I was on top,” he said. “And then that would dry up and I would get really, really down on myself, so you can't do that. It's a humbling sport with so many factors out of your control. You always have to be thankful for wins like Buscador delivered and he is not done yet, we hope.”

Fincher confirmed that Senor Buscador has arrived safely at Peacefield Farm in Temecula, California and will be given several weeks off before a new training cycle could start.

“Just like always, we are going to let him tell us,” he said. “I think the GII Pat O'Brien S. could be possible, we'll see, and then long term, the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.” Two years ago at Del Mar, Buscador finished third in the O'Brien to Laurel River (Into Mischief), who ran away with this year's Dubai World Cup.

While the Saudi Cup champ gets a break, his trainer will be doing nothing of the sort. With Sunland complete, Fincher's stable shifts to SunRay Park up in Farmington, New Mexico, but he loaded up a trailer bound for Hot Springs, Arkansas to start this week.

“We have a couple that I am taking to Oaklawn and I will be there all week,” he said. “I don't like hauling them this far, but it is going to be good to run against competition like this.”

Fincher is entering Perfect Dude (Majesticperfection)–who shifted from Vann Belvoir over to him in February–in Saturday's GIII Count Fleet S. It's a race which will feature Skelly (Practical Joke), who is making his first U.S. start since the gelding ran second in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia.

Making the some 900-mile trip to Oaklawn for the GI Apple Blossom S. is Flying Connection (Nyquist). Last year, the filly won the Island Fashion S. and then netted the Sunland Park Oaks, which earned her a spot in the starting gate for the GI Kentucky Oaks. She ran a game sixth in defeat that Friday.

“Perfect Dude is a fairly new acquisition, but I can tell he has a ton of talent and he is really quick out of the gate,” said Fincher. “I think Flying Connection has developed a real tactical advantage and she has really come far since last year when she just went straight to the front all the time.”

Flying Connection is co-owned by Brad King, Randy Andrews, Chris Coleman, Jim Cone, Suzanne Kirby and Lee Lewis, which is the same group who invested in another Fincher-trained runner, Olivia Twist (Mshawish). Incidentally, King, Andrews, Cone and Lewis are a part of MSW Candy Aisle (Gun Runner), who was ninth in Oaklawn's GII Fantasy S. Mar. 30, and who Fincher will possibly send to the Valley of the Vapors S. Apr. 20.

A half-sister to MGSW/MGISP Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator), Olivia Twist already made the trip to Hot Springs to join Candy Aisle and put in a six-panel work over the weekend. According to her trainer, the 4-year-old could be ready for the April 27 running of the Dig A Diamond S., but for now Fincher is taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to her next start.

Olivia Twist working with Cristian Torres aboard at Oaklawn | courtesy of Robert Yates

“She raced a ton starting as a 2-year-old,” he said. “I really think she needed a good rest and got it during the second half of last year. I really like the way she carries her weight and she's developed over the winter, she has continued to be aggressive in the mornings, so we'll see if that continues to translate to the afternoons.”

Olivia Twist started eight times from when she broke her maiden at Remington Park late in her juvenile year through last summer at Del Mar. The biggest puzzle for Fincher is to figure out what distance she wants.

“That will come,” he said.

In the interim, Todd Fincher has plenty more puzzles to solve as Saudi Arabia and Dubai are now firmly in the rearview mirror. The road to Oaklawn beckons, and that means it is an opportunity to develop some more bread and butter.

The post Fincher Back To ‘Bread & Butter’ After Dubai, Oaklawn Road Beckons appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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It's entirely possible that Juddmonte's Laurel River (Into Mischief) managed to upstage him Saturday with an absolutely stunning, front-running tour-de-force in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan, a result that even those closest to him may not have anticipated.

Winner of the 2022 GII Pat O'Brien S.–where a horse called Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) was third–Laurel River was somewhat controversially withdrawn from that year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, a race for which he was likely to be favored. Sidelined for a spell, Juddmonte elected to transfer their homebred from Bob Baffert to the Dubai-based stable of leading trainer Bhupat Seemar in the summer of 2023.

To say things were off to an inauspicious beginning in the Emirates would be an understatement of monumental proportions. Laurel River faded tamely to finish seventh in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint on local debut in late January, but as disappointing as that effort was, he bounced back to post an equally emphatic 6 3/4-length victory in the G3 Burj Nahaar on Super Saturday to punch his ticket to World Cup night.

Conventional wisdom dictates that winning the Burj Nahaar leads to a start in the G2 Godolphin Mile over the same course and distance on the big night, but Seemar and the Juddmonte braintrust called an audible and routed the six-year-old to the G1 Dubai World Cup instead: a race 12 times as valuable, but incrementally more challenging on a few levels, not least the 2000-metre distance of the race. Additionally, the Godolphin Mile was likely to attract the speedy Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and defending champion Isolate (Mark Valeski), and opting for the World Cup would eliminate the possibility of a suicidal pace duel.

“I feel like the 10 furlongs is a stretch for him, but that is a speed-favoring track and he might be the lone speed,” Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke told the TDN when World Cup plans were confirmed Mar. 7.

After drawing 12 of 12 at Wednesday's barrier draw at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, many would have further downgraded the chances of Laurel River, reasoning that a horse already questionable to see out the trip would have to go hard–perhaps too hard–in order to secure the front. After all, another speedball–Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn})–had similar misfortune at the draw last year and dropped away to finish well down the field.

But there would be no such repeat Saturday evening, as Laurel River decisively surged into a clear lead with a half-mile to travel and went on to score by 8 1/2 lengths, the largest margin of victory in a World Cup at Meydan.

“I'm still coming to terms with what's happened,” Seemar said. “I think it'll probably sink in in another day or two. It's absolutely amazing. [Jockey] Tadhg [O'Shea] said this morning 'we're drawn 12, I'm not going to be two-minded about it, I'm going to go forward.'”

And go forward he did, sliding over to lead three off the inside with a circuit to travel as he had Military Law (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Dura Erede (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) for early company. As they turned towards the backstretch, Defunded (Dialed In) circled up so as not to sit wide the trip, and the two of them controlled the pace through the middle stages.

They put the better part of a half-dozen lengths on Dura Erede and the rail-skimming international favorite Kabirkhan (California Chrome) rounding the turn, and by the time Laurel River passed the 600-meter pole, it was really all over but the shouting. Showing no signs of stopping as he hit the top of the lane, Laurel River opened up by perhaps as many as 10 lengths  and jogged it in from there.

Senor Buscador got first run on defending champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), but was run down on the wire for second while adding another $1.2 million to his $10-million grab in the G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 24.

“He brings it every time, he ran a really good race,” said trainer Todd Fincher. “He might have started his run a little early trying to catch Laurel River and maybe that cost us a placing. Hats off to Laurel River, he freaked on everybody there.”

Of the winner, Seemar added, “”He's got so much natural pace. He comes out of the gate and this is why we ran him over six furlongs [in the Al Shindagha].

“Tadhg was able to get some easy fractions and then I saw Defunded coming on his outside but he just kept on going further. I expected to see all the closers flying at him but he kept going.”

For the better part of two decades, O'Shea has pounded the pavement on the Emirates Racing Authority, and he was basking in the afterglow of his Saturday achievements. He also guided Tuz (Oxbow) to an open-lengths success in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, his second in three years after missing by a nostril with defending champion Switzerland in 2023.

“I've been fortunate enough to have had Dubai World Cup night winners but you don't get many opportunities and I'm going to be forever grateful to Juddmonte for keeping me on the horse, they could use anyone and they're a worldwide operation that's really successful,” said O'Shea.

“When he had his first run for the stable, we thought he'd disappointed, but we never lost faith. He was explosive last time and I said the other morning to Bhupat, I pulled him aside and said I'd never ridden a horse with his ability ever. And he'd just done an easy work on his own.

“With the dirt you can't be half-hearted, you have to go forward. If he didn't stay, he didn't stay. We were aware of that. The main thing that won the race, it's easy to say when you win, but I was able to keep filling him up and filling him up.”

Kabirkhan sat a good inside trip, but failed to go on in the lane and finished eighth, beaten over 18 lengths.

“He was beaten a long way out,” commented his jockey Pat Dobbs. “I knew leaving the back straight he wasn't the same horse as before.”

Of the remaining Americans, Newgate (Into Mischief), Crupi (Curlin) and Clapton (Brethren) finished a distant eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Pedigree Notes:

Laurel River is the 20th Grade I winner for Into Mischief and is bred on the same cross over Empire Maker responsible for 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, while other top-level winners from Fappiano-line mares include champion Covfeve, Gina Romantica, Doppelganger and Atone. Additional stakes winners by Into Mischief out of Empire Maker dams include Grade III scorers Occult and Center Aisle and Juddmonte's late Taraz.

On paper, Laurel River is bred to stay the mile and quarter and perhaps further, as his first two dams are by Belmont S. winners. Juddmonte purchased Laurel River's second dam Soothing Touch for $550,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, and while she didn't work out as a racemare, she's excelled in the breeding shed.

The mare is the dam of six winners from 10 to race, including her first foal Emollient (Empire Maker), victorious in the 2013 GI Central Bank Ashland S. and the Juddmonte-sponsored GI Spinster, and her four winners as a broodmare include G2 Prix de Malleret winner Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and French listed winner Ardent (Frankel {GB}).  Soothing Touch has also accounted for Hofburg (Tapit), a stakes winner and third in the GI Belmont S; and stakes winner Courtier (Tapit).

The second foal from Soothing Touch, Laurel River has a 2-year-old half-sister by Constitution, a yearling half-brother by that son of Tapit and produced a full-sister to Laurel River four days after his victory in the Burj Nahaar.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAI WORLD CUP SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G1, AED12,000,000, Meydan, 3-30, 3yo/up, 10f, 2:02.31, fs.
1–LAUREL RIVER, 126, h, 6, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Calm Water, by Empire Maker
                2nd Dam: Soothing Touch, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Glia, by A.P. Indy
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc
(KY); T-Bhupat Seemar; J-Tadhg O'Shea. $6,960,000. Lifetime
Record: GSW-US, 10-6-1-0-1, $7,470,676. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ushba Tesoro (Jpn), 126, h, 7, Orfevre (Jpn)–Millefeui Attach
(Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). (¥25,000,000 Wlg '17
JRHAJUL). O-Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co Ltd; B-Chiyoda Farm
Shizunai (JPN); T-Noboru Takagi. $2,400,000.
3–Senor Buscador, 126, h, 6, Mineshaft–Rose's Desert, by
Desert God. O-Sharaf Mohammed Al Hariri & Joe R Peacock Jr;
B-Joe Peacock Sr & Joe Peacock Jr (KY); T-Todd W Fincher.
$1,200,000.
Margins: 8HF, NK, 4 3/4.
Also Ran: Wilson Tesoro (Jpn), Dura Erede (Jpn), Derma Sotogake (Jpn), Defunded, Kabirkhan, Newgate, Crupi, Clapton, Military Law (GB). Click for the ERA chart & video.

WOW! #7 LAUREL RIVER dominates the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) in front-running fashion!

The @JuddmonteFarms homebred was perfectly ridden by @OsheaTadhg for trainer Satish Seemar. Congratulations to the connections! pic.twitter.com/NYZEeSYF7m

— TVG (@TVG) March 30, 2024

The post Juddmonte Juggernaut! Laurel River Wins Dubai World Cup By An Imposing Margin appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) will attempt to make history as the first to sweep the 'Desert Double,' having caused a surprise when just touching off the re-opposing World Cup champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) 600 miles to the west of here in the G1 Saudi Cup five weeks ago.

Newgate (Into Mischief), one of two in the race for his all-conquering sire alongside Juddmonte's stretching-out Laurel River, exits a victory in the GI Santa Anita H. and goes out for the team of trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Frankie Dettori, successful with Country Grammer (Tonalist) in 2022. The progressive Crupi, a son of 2008 World Cup hero Curlin, and Grade II winner Clapton (Brethren) round out the quartet.

American horses have won 13 of the 27 previous runnings of the World Cup.

Sibelius (Not This Time) will look to join Caller One and Mind Your Biscuits as back-to-back winners of the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, a 1200-meter dash that has also attracted GI Breeders' Cup Sprint third Nakatomi (Firing Line); Bold Journey (Hard Spun), the GIII Fall Highweight H. winner and third in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint; Run Classic (Runhappy); and Hopkins (Quality Road), third after setting the pace last year.

Saudi Cup third Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) is down in trip and should jump as the favorite for the G2 Godolphin Mile, where he is joined by his compatriots Two Rivers Over–whose sire Tamarkuz took the 2015 Mile–and Caramel Chip (Midshipman).

There is a single American representative in each of three of the remaining five Thoroughbred races Saturday evening. Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) will look to improve on a troubled fifth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in 2022, while the striking Catnip (Kitten's Joy) takes on some of the world's best in the G1 Dubai Turf. New York-bred Pandagate (Arrogate), whose sire was spectacular in winning the 2017 World Cup, will try to earn points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in the G2 UAE Derby.

Previews for all eight races will appear in TDN Europe.

The post Senor Buscador Leads American Challenge On Dubai World Cup Night appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The fields and post positions for the evening's four non-Group 1 races–including the Dubai Kahayla Classic for the Purebred Arabians–were announced Monday, while stalls for the five elite-level contests were allotted during a ceremony Wednesday evening emceed by Rishi Persad and Laura King at the Armani Hotel at the iconic Burj Khalifa in Central Dubai.

Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) will look to join Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) as the only two-time winners of the World Cup, and his trainer Noboru Takagi was first to the stage, where he selected barrier five. The 7-year-old had gate eight a year ago and was off to an awkward start before steaming home to peg back Algiers (Ire) (Shamardal) close to home. The commonly owned Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), second to Ushba Tesoro in the G1 Tokyo Daishoten over the World Cup distance in December, drew 11.

Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) ran down Ushba Tesoro in the final jump of the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh five weeks ago, and the two square off for the third time at the weekend. The likeable 6-year-old was represented on stage by trainer Todd Fincher and co-owner Joe Peacock Jnr looked on as Senor Buscador was assigned barrier 10.

Last year's G2 UAE Derby winner Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) was at a fitness disadvantage when a sound fifth in Riyadh first-up for better than four months and figures to have come on for that reappearance. He will begin from stall eight.

Kazakh-owned Kabirkhan (California Chrome) will look to complete a fairy-tale season while trying to emulate his World Cup-winning stallion Saturday evening. Purchased for the bargain price of $12,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, the chestnut will break from post position two for jockey Pat Dobbs and trainer Doug Watson.

Trainer Bob Baffert and Frankie Dettori teamed to take out the 2022 World Cup with Country Grammer (Tonalist) and will look for history to repeat itself with Newgate (Into Mischief) from the six hole. He exits a victory in the GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 2.

Juddmonte Farms' Laurel River (Into Mischief) ran up the score in the G3 Burj Nahaar over 1600 metres on Super Saturday Mar. 2, but sensing that it could be a paceless renewal of the World Cup, connections have rolled the dice. He will have to be on his best behaviour, as any misstep from the widest stall in 12 could prove his undoing.

In the other Group 1 tests:

• Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) has drawn seven and Japanese Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) nine for the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, where 10 Group 1 winners from eight nations vie for a $6-million pot.

• Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) will go for a fourth straight $5-million G1 Dubai Turf from gate 11, with Japan's Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in five, Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) drawn three and stablemate Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) out in 16.

• Defending champion Sibelius (Not This Time) has gate six for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen where he faces G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint hero Remake (Jpn) (Lani), Bold Journey (Hard Spun), a late-on-the-scene third in the same race, and the capable locals Mouheeb (Flatter) and Tuz (Oxbow).

• Hong Kong's California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) will start from gate five in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint against the smart 3-year-old filly Frost At Dawn (Frosted), the veteran Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) and defending champion Danyah (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}.

The full field for the 2024 Dubai World Cup:

1 (7) Clapton (Brethren)

2 (1) Crupi (Curlin)

3 (9) Defunded (Dialed In)

4 (8) Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits)

5 (3) Dura Erede (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn})

6 (2) Kabirkhan (California Chrome)

7 (12) Laurel River (Into Mischief)

8 (4) Military Law (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})

9 (6) Newgate (Into Mischief)

10 (10) Senor Buscador (Mineshaft)

11 (5) Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn})

12 (11) Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn})

It's all set!

The final post position for the 28th running of the #DubaiWorldCup!#DWC24 pic.twitter.com/gYdTv4BGu9

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 27, 2024

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A strapping, nearly-black gelding, Catnip exits a longshot, but close third to Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Jan. 27. Trainer Mike Stidham looked at Catnip's Ragozin sheet and that encouraged him to swing for the fences in a hot renewal of the G1 Dubai Turf, bypassing a considerably easier spot in last weekend's GII Muniz Memorial S. at the Fair Grounds.

“He ran a huge new top in that race,” the freshly arrived Stidham said Wednesday. “We had a choice of running him for $300,000 or $5 million and we decided to take a shot at the $5 million and brought him over. So far, so good.”

Catnip is a half-brother to five-time U.S. graded winner Princess Grace (Karakontie {Jpn}), who was purchased by China Horse Club for $1.7 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2022 and went on to win a Group 3 while posting a pair of narrowly beaten seconds in Group 1 company in Australia for trainer Chris Waller.

.@PegasusWorldCup Turf third Catnip is one handsome looking horse in the Dubai Turf. #DWC24 pic.twitter.com/wvBE6CdUxX

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 27, 2024

On his last visit to Meydan, Stidham saddled 'TDN Rising Star' Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) to a victory in the 2021 Dubai World Cup.

Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's GI Pegasus World Cup third Crupi (Curlin) was out in the 5-6 a.m. window reserved for the international contingent, his chestnut colt gleaming under the floodlights before and after a couple of spins around the track. Repole will not be in attendance, as he will be on hand at Gulfstream Park to watch 'TDN Rising Star' and champion Fierceness (City of Light) in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, but here to represent the stable are Pat Cummings and a sleep-deprived Alex Solis II. You'll have to contact him for details.

The American-based, but locally owned Clapton (Brethren) is hard to miss when he comes onto the track, his orange tack and matching polos giving him absolutely no cover. After some internal discussion, the Florida-bred was given the green light for a World Cup bid, and connections are quietly confident he will fire his best shot Saturday.

Trainer Todd Fincher and owner Joe Peacock, Jr. made their way across the track to the starting gate where G1 Saudi Cup hero Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) got acquainted with the stalls before showing good energy in his track gallop. He appears a fresh horse despite his recent travels.

So popular was Jun Park and Delia Nash's Sibelius (Not This Time) leading up to last year's G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen that a DailySibelius hashtag was created on X. By the looks of it, he's grown his fan club and is always good for hamming it up at the outside fence beneath his adoring work rider Allyson Walker.

SIBELIUS with @AllysonKWalker went for an easy spin around the track in G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen prep @RacingDubai #HorseRacing #DubaiWorldCup #sportsphotography #Nikon pic.twitter.com/MhfArDQKMh

— Martin Dokoupil (@Martins_Images) March 27, 2024

Also making a good impression was fellow Golden Shaheen entrant Nakatomi (Firing Line), a rare Dubai runner for trainer Wesley Ward. Hopkins (Quality Road), beaten just a length into fourth by Sibelius last year, went through his gears down the lane Wednesday.

Gander S. winner Pandagate (Arrogate) was led onto the track by assistant trainer Miguel Clement, with his wife Acacia Clement not far behind. The New York-bred gray–his late sire's literal body double–stood for what felt like an eternity on the outside rail before taking off around Meydan and wrapping things up with a visit to the gate.

Caramel Chip (Midshipman) looks to have it all to do against the likes of Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and Isolate (Mark Valeski) in Saturday's G2 Godolphin Mile, but win, lose or draw, the Jose D'Angelo trainee looks to be doing as well as he could be ahead of the $1-million contest.

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“Yeah. I mean, it's been pretty crazy,” admits owner and breeder Joey Peacock, Jr.

Peacock, a resident of San Antonio, and his family have been in the horse business for the better part of 5 1/2 decades, but never has there been one like Senor Buscador to grace their New Mexico-based barn. And it all starts with a daughter of a virtually unknown son of Fappiano who won no fewer than seven black-type races at Zia Park and Sunland Park for Peacock's father and trainer Todd Fincher. She has managed to one-up herself in the breeding shed, with five winners from five to race, four of those full stakes winners and two graded winners.

Not bad for a mare by….checks notes…Desert God?

The Pride of New Mexico and 'Mining' For Gold

“I think that early on, people look down their noses at her being a 'New Mexico-bred,'” he said of Rose's Desert. “But if you really look at the pedigree, I mean, she's by a horse who was an unraced son of Fappiano out of a mare that won the [GI] Kentucky Oaks. I mean, let's be real, that's a pretty solid pedigree.”

That Kentucky Oaks winner is the 1982 victress Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}), whose daughter Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) was broodmare of the year in 2007. More on how this part of the pedigree fits in below.

“There's a lot of times that you have great racemares who don't end up being great broodmares, but we were just always confident in her. And she's a big mare, so it wasn't like we had limitations when we were talking about stallions, like we were trying to overcome anything,” Peacock explained.

He continued, “She had speed. She had size. She didn't have anything that we had to try to breed to improve, which really opened us up to really go to anybody that we wanted to stallion-wise. Right or wrong, we are 100% all in on that pedigree and that bloodline. We haven't sold any of Roses Desert's offspring and don't intend to. I just think it's something that we can take and build on and look back 20 years from now and say, 'Oh my God. Look what happened starting with Rose's Desert.' I tell you, I wouldn't trade our broodmare with anybody else's broodmare.”

The decision to send Rose's Desert to Mineshaft, on the surface at least, is an interesting one. The Peacocks successfully mated the mare to the likes of Ghostzapper (Grade III winner Runaway Ghost and SW Our Iris Rose) and Curlin (MSW Sheriff Brown). A four-time Grade I winner and Horse of the Year in 2003, Mineshaft has been a reliable sire of racehorses, if not perhaps in the same league as a Ghostzapper or Curlin.

“My dad was still alive when we bred to Mineshaft, and so he would get the stallion book every year and go through it, and what he really liked to see–he liked to see horses that had a decent amount of races in their career, which to him indicated soundness,” Peacock explained. “He liked to see horses all through the pedigree that made money, which to him was a proxy for ability at the racetrack. And then to see a horse that had the stamina to go the classic distances, and Mineshaft fit all those, checked all those boxes. So he wasn't a big stud fee, $10,000, but you know what? So what?

“We were not handcuffed by the fact that we were breeding to market to the sales, which I think drives most breeding decisions. So we were sort of free of that obligation of trying to get a sales horse. We just wanted to breed a good, sound, solid race horse, and as you can see, we got fortunate and that's what turned out to be.”

The cross of A.P. Indy over the Blush With Pride family needs little introduction, as it has resulted in the likes of Belmont winner Rags to Riches–by A.P. Indy himself; GSW & G1SP Casino Drive (Mineshaft); MGSW/GISP Greatest Honour (Tapit); Canadian SW Cascading (A.P. Indy); and Modeling (Tapit), the dam of champion MGISW Arcangelo (Arrogate).

And Mineshaft himself is out of Prospectors Delite, a mare by….well, does anyone know how Senor Buscador translates into English? If you didn't, you do now.

An Immediate Hit

Peacock, who boards his mares at Shawhan Place in Kentucky, reports there was nothing remarkable about Senor Buscador's upbringing, but the same couldn't be said about the year 2020, the colt's juvenile season. The Coronavirus was on the lips and minds of everybody, and in its own way, it wreaked havoc on the Thoroughbred industry. Among the types of decisions it impacted were the otherwise-inane discussions of just where to run one's horses.

“New Mexico shut down and we were trying to find a race for him because he's ready to go, and so Todd took him to Remington Park and after that first race, Todd said, 'This horse is–you don't get horses like this very often. This horse is special,'” Peacock said. “So when he said that, I started paying a lot more attention. Not that I don't pay attention to our horses, but I mean, I started getting excited because he doesn't ever really offer any kind of glowing remarks like that.”

Senor Buscador and Rose's Desert | Courtesy Shawhan Place

Having rallied from last to debut a 2 1/2-length winner in November 2020, Senor Buscador romped by 5 3/4 lengths in the Springboard Mile the following month, but the colt was a flat fifth at 5-2 behind Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in the GII Risen Star S.

“We had the fastest two-turn dirt Beyer for any 2-year-old when he won the Springboard, so my phone started ringing off the hook first thing in the morning after that race, and then we decided we weren't interested in selling the horse, so we were headed to the Risen Star,” Peacock said.

“We thought the horse was going to run well. Didn't have his patented late kick. We ended up sending him to Dr. Tommy Hays in Elgin, Texas, and turns out he had chipped an ankle. So Dr. Hays took the chip out, said, 'Good news. We got it early. It hadn't been floating around. It didn't do a bunch of other soft tissue damage, so let's just give him time off,' which we did.”

Dashed Derby Dreams 

Having also been forced to miss the 2018 Triple Crown trail with Senor Buscador's GIII Sunland Derby-winning half-brother Runaway Ghost, Peacock was compelled to regroup and was pointing Senor Buscador to a fall campaign in 2021.

“I think we gave him four months off, and then we were training him to come back for the Zia Park Derby in New Mexico, and then Todd gets to the barn one morning and his right rear hock is just…he can't even put his foot on the ground,” Peacock said. “It's swollen beyond belief. I mean, he got injured in the stall and then that thing got infected and there's very little blood flow to that part of the hock.

“So we had to have another surgery, go in and clean out the infection, try to get the antibiotics to where they needed to be. It ended up being a long, drawn-out affair. I mean, the veterinarians were like, 'We don't know how this is going to go.' We weren't not talking about [being] a racehorse anymore. We're just talking about survival.”

But survive he did, finishing third to fellow World Cup entrant Laurel River (Into Mischief) in the GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar before winning the 2022 GIII Ack Ack S. at Churchill Downs. He reportedly bled when eighth to Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

Connections continued on undeterred into a 5-year-old season, confidence still well intact, and Senor Buscador backed up their opinion with a 13-1 upset in the GII San Diego H. ahead of a sound fourth in the GI TVG Pacific Classic in early September. A respectable third in the GI Awesome Again S., Senor Buscador made up a fair bit of ground in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic to be seventh.

Some might have called time on the season after a seventh start in eight months, but they pressed on to the GI Cigar Mile H., where Senor Buscador finished an anti-bias runner-up.

“We were thinking about the Pegasus all along and hoping that based on that Cigar effort, we'd get the invitation and sure enough we did and we felt good about our chances there,” Peacock said.

With the nine-furlong race run to suit his relentless closing style, Senor Buscador rallied past all the competition bar National Treasure (Quality Road) and not long after the race crossed the finish line, Fincher's phone was ringing.

“The Saudi people had been talking to us after the Cigar, and of course Todd gets the call, shoot, five minutes after the Pegasus,” said Peacock. We're standing together after the race and he got the invitation.”

Riyadh Riches

A decided outsider in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, consistent form and all, Senor Buscador was so far out of it in the early stages that Peacock and team were struggling to find him.

“I'll be honest with you. We had no idea where he was,” Peacock admitted. “We watched it from the paddock because we couldn't get back to our seats. There were so many people at the track that we couldn't get back to where we were sitting, so we just decided we'd watch it from the paddock and we watched it on the Jumbotron.

“They've got the chase car inside the rail videoing the front-runners. But when they came into the stretch, of course anytime he's running, I'm looking at the middle of the racetrack to try to find something that's closing and we could see him coming down the middle of the stretch. So yeah, we didn't get the opportunity to get excited until it was almost over. Our goal for the year was to get Senior Buscador a Grade I win and never dreamed it'd be the Saudi Cup, but heck, if you have to pick one to win, he picked a good one.”

And now it's on to the World Cup, the second of a two-race lease with Saudi owner Sharaf Mohammed S Al Hariri.

“He's doing great,” Peacock confirmed. “It was funny. When he went to Saudi, the first few days he was a little lethargic, and I guess it's just jet lag, just like us. But he started really picking it up after he was there, I think on the third day, and then continued through the race. Oscar, who is Todd Fincher's right-hand man who's there with him and gallops him every day said he's doing great. Galloping great. He's happy. He's eating well. He's training good. I mean, we couldn't ask for things to be going better at this point.”

Peacock said he has engaged informally with a handful of individuals regarding a potential stud deal.

“I want to see him in Kentucky,”he said. “I mean, I think he deserves that opportunity. Again, right or wrong, we 100% believe in the pedigree and I just think he deserves that opportunity, so we'll see if we can make it happen or not.”

And what would his dad think of what Senor Buscador has accomplished?

“Oh, wow. Well, first of all, I'm not sure he would've ever let Todd take the horse to Saudi,” Peacock chuckled. “I think that's the first thing. But no, he would be tickled to know that we have a horse that's running on the world stage that can compete on the world stage and arguably one of the biggest races on the world stage.

“So yeah, I would have to say he would be very excited about that. And the fact that we own the mare and we own every one of his brothers and sisters, it just really makes it that much more special for our family.”

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Presented annually at the Great Race Place since 1950, the award honors riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem individually as well as for the sport. Alvarado garnered national attention in 2023 as the regular rider of Horse of the Year Cody's Wish and more recently spoiled Japan's hopes in the world's richest race, the G1 Saudi Cup, aboard G1SW-KSA & MGISP Senor Buscador (Mineshaft). Going into March, Alvarado has 2,117 career victories with his top mounts also including the likes of champion MGISW Just F Y I (Justify), GISW Olympiad (Speightstown), and MGISW Art Collector (Bernardini).

The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is named for the late Hall of Fame rider who won the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap Feb. 23, 1935 and later piloted Seabiscuit to victory over Triple Crown winner War Admiral in the great match race at Pimlico in 1938. A date for the presentation ceremony has not been announced yet but will be held in the spring.

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Now sitting atop the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings on 121, National Treasure (Quality Road) and Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) both began their 2024 campaigns in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. in January, which saw the former defeat Senor Buscador by a neck.

Following that effort, they both travelled to the Middle East to compete in the G1 Saudi Cup. Senor Buscador raced in the back of the field before rallying to defeat Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) by a head, who was weighted on 120 for this week's list. Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), who was three-quarters of a length back in third, came next on 119, while National Treasure finished fourth.

Ushba Tesoro shares the joint-second position in the rankings, along with G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup winner Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won the Listed HH The Amir Trophy in Qatar Feb. 17.

Joining them with 120 points is Private Eye (Aus) (Al Maher {Aus}). He finished second by a head in the G1 Black Caviar Lightning S. to Imperatriz (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}), who made the list with 119.

Click here for the full list of ranked horses.

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The decision was finalized after the 5-year-old worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 (13/27) Wednesday morning at Santa Anita.

“Newgrange is not going to Dubai,” D'Amato texted. “We will regroup and race him stateside down the road.”

Winner of the GIII Sham S. and GIII Southwest S. for the SF Racing/Starlight/Madaket et. al. partnership while under the care of Bob Baffert in 2022, the dark bay was purchased by  Kim Lloyd's Sweetwater Trading for $250,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Horse of Racing Age Sale on behalf of David A. Bernsen, Rockingham Ranch and Little Red Feather Racing.

Winner of the 2023 GII San Pasqual S., Newgrange was subsequently seventh in the Big 'Cap, but had returned to his best form following a seven-month absence this winter, with an easy score in the GII San Antonio S. and a successful defense of his title in the San Pasqual. Connections had also been considering an appearance in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. the same afternoon, but with an eye on the World Cup and in an effort to minimize travel, elected not to make the trans-continental trip.

Four American-based horses remain in the prospective field of 12, including Newgate, G1 Saudi Cup hero Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), Pegasus World Cup third Crupi (Curlin) and GII Lukas Classic hero Clapton (Brethen).

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