After finishing a barnstorming second from gate 11 in a slowly run renewal of the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) four weeks back, last year's G3 Hampton Court S. scorer Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was assigned barrier five as post positions were drawn Thursday for the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.
The former Aidan O'Brien galloper was no factor and well beaten in his first two local appearances, including a ninth to the upset-minded Excellent Proposal (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the Hong Kong Classic Mile in January. But trainer Douglas Whyte added blinkers for the Classic Cup and Russian Emperor hit the line hard to miss by a neck to Healthy Happy (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}), who enjoyed a very soft time of it in front.
“He'll get the trip and plus, so he's going to have every answer–that's the beauty of being drawn where he is,” the 'Durban Demon' said. “[Jockey] Karis [Teetan] can now use the draw and ride a race.”
If that version of Russian Emperor shows up, they may all be running for second, but three-time Derby-winning conditioner John Size will try to make his presence felt with a trio of entrants. The highest-rated of them is Excellent Proposal, who returned a colossal $23 (22-1) in the Classic Mile and was one of several inconvenienced by the lack of pace in the Classic Cup. He has gate eight for Blake Shinn, who nearly pulled the upset in last year's Derby with 289-1 Playa Del Puente (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}).
“I'm pretty comfortable with barrier eight, it's a middle of the line draw, he'll have all the main chances around us–I'm happy,” Shinn said.
David Hayes is in the Derby in his first season back in Hong Kong, having saddled the filly Elegant Fashion (Aus) (Danewin {Aus}) in 2003. The more likely of his two runners appears to be the classy Shadow Hero (Aus) (Pierro {Aus}), who rallied from midpack to be third in the Classic Cup. While he drew nicely in seven, stablemate Conqueror (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) was less fortunate to land 13.
Sky Darci (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) carries the highest local rating of 103 into the Derby, and while Sunday's 10-furlong trip looms a bit of a question, his chances to stay were enhanced when he and leading rider Joao Moreira pulled gate two Thursday.
“I'm very pleased with that draw–he needs a soft gate and I'm very happy, it's going to give him his chance,” said trainer Caspar Fownes, whose Super Satin (NZ) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) was piloted by Whyte when taking out the Derby back in 2010.
Our special BMW Hong Kong Derby cheat sheet will appear in Saturday's TDN Europe/International edition.
Jan Vandebos and her late husband Robert Naify paid a visit to Coolmore on a trip to Ireland several years ago, fueling a desire to seed her high-quality broodmare band with a mare by the world's most dominant stallion. That rendezvous set in motion a chain of events that will see the RanJan Racing-bred Congratulation (American Pharoah), the former 'TDN Rising Star' Monarch of Egypt, take part in one of the world's richest age-restricted events, the HK$24-million (US$ 3.09 million) BMW Hong Kong Derby (NH/SH 4-year-olds only, 2000mT) Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse.
“I fell in love with Galileo (Ire) and Montjeu (Ire), when he was still alive on our visit,” she said. “We were just getting started in bloodstock and studied the pedigree and we had decided at the time that we wanted to find a great Galileo mare. I looked for six or seven years at mares that were presented to me from Europe and I didn't see anything I liked.”
That all changed when Galileo's then newly turned 6-year-old daughter Up (Ire) was entered for the 2015 Keeneland January Sale. A half-sister to Group 1-winning juvenile and sire Dutch Art (GB) (Medicean {GB}), Up–fourth to Stephanie's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) in the 2011 GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf–was runner-up for the Coolmore ownership group in the 2012 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) and was a two-time winner at group level at The Curragh after a sixth against older females in the GI Beverly D. S. She was retired following a seventh-place effort in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and was covered by War Front in early 2013.
Having produced a filly to the Claiborne stallion, she was bred back to the Danzig son and was consigned to the 2015 January Sale by Four Star Sales.
“I saw her walking video and I'd never seen anything like it,” Vandebos said. “Never seen a shoulder like that or a hip or a walk. I said to [Taylor Made's] Frank [Taylor], 'I think this is the one,' and, on one bid, I was able to get her. She's pure class, she's a lovely, lovely mare. She's not large–she's probably only 15.2 to 15.3, but everything she's produced has been pretty good-sized.”
Taylor signed the sales-topping ticket at $2.2 million.
“That's about where we pegged her,” Taylor told the TDN's Brian DiDonato of Up, whose War Front filly was the top-selling short yearling at the same sale when hammering for $800,000 to Solis/Litt on behalf of LNJ Foxwoods. “We looked at some comparable mares–some of those mares by Galileo in foal to War Front were bringing a lot of money, so we thought that was a fair price.”
Up was among the first book of mares to visit Coolmore America's American Pharoah in 2016 and produced a colt by the Triple Crown winner Mar. 31, 2017. The colt they nicknamed 'six-pack' was raised at Taylor Made by Naify and Marshall Taylor, son of Taylor Made President and CEO Duncan Taylor.
“He was pretty spectacular from the day he was born,” Vandebos said. “Very muscular, very intelligent, everything was just in the perfect place. We sold him well.”
Monarch of Egypt, a $750,000 purchase by M. V. Magnier and Peter Brant's White Birch Farm at KEESEP in 2018, became his sire's first winner from that first crop when scoring by 2 3/4 lengths on debut at Naas to earn his 'Rising Star.' Second to the talented future G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero Siskin (First Defence) in the G2 Railway S. and G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at two, Monarch of Egypt was a cracking runner-up in a soft-ground renewal of the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot last June. Sold to Hong Kong interests, the bay gelding was a sound fifth, beaten just over four lengths, in the Class 1 Chinese New Year Cup H. (1400m) at Sha Tin Feb. 14 (video) for former leading jockey and now trainer Douglas Whyte.
“I really thought he would be a 2 1/2 to 3-year-old because of what the dam had done at the races,” Vandebos said. “I honestly don't think he's reached his full potential and I am really excited about this race. I don't really think he's a sprinter, but I think it's very interesting that he's in Hong Kong.”
Up was entered for, but was withdrawn from another trip through the Keeneland sales pavilion in November 2017 when carrying to Pioneerof the Nile. That proved a fruitful decision when that produce, a colt, was sold for $1 million at the 2019 September sale. Now named Khartoum, he is a maiden winner in two starts for Aidan O'Brien.
Up's foal of 2019 is a Medaglia d'Oro filly Vandebos proudly describes as “one of the most–if not the most–beautiful filly I've ever owned.” Vandebos elected to take her home after bidding stalled out at $575,000 at KEESEP last fall. The filly, named Star of India, is with Dr. Barry Eisaman in Ocala, but “I am in no rush with her,” Vandebos said.
Next in the pipeline is a now-yearling filly by Quality Road that will most likely be offered at Keeneland this fall, “unless I fall in love with her before then, which is quite likely!”
Up was not bred in 2020 and was recently covered once again by Medaglia d'Oro. And to bring it all full-circle, Up's first foal is now the dam of the 2-year-old colt Direct (Aus) (Siyouni {Fr}), who was third in the G2 Silver Slipper S. at Rosehill in Sydney last month.
Vandebos, who also bred the late Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy), keeps her 10-strong broodmare band at Lane's End. One of RanJan's most beloved producers, Cambiocorsa (Avenue of Flags), is likely to be pensioned this year to live out her days at Lane's End, Vandebos said.
“I want to keep it small,” she said. “I have a boutique operation that I manage myself. I am back and forth to Kentucky, I spend a week at a time back there about every other month. It's what I love. It's not about the business. It's about breeding the horses and being proud of my mares and their progeny. It's really a labor of love for me. I don't consider it a business, although my accountant tells me I need to start considering it as a business! But I've had good luck. I just hope my horses and mares stay healthy and they can show the world what we can do.”
The field for the BMW Hong Kong Derby will be drawn Thursday at midday (local time).
In the fall of 2018, Torie and Jimbo Gladwell, owners of the Ocala-based Top Line Sales, welcomed into their training program a colt by Curlin out of the stakes-winning Marion Ravenwood (A.P. Indy). Some 2 1/2 years later, the bay colt–now named Idol–is a Grade I winner, having flown home down the center of the track to take out the prestigious Santa Anita H. Mar. 6. The victory was the second leg of a unique triple for Top Line graduates over the last few weeks.
Idol was bred by Len Riggio's My Meadowview Farm and is out of a daughter of GSW & MGISP Andujar (Quiet American), who was acquired by My Meadowview for $2.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2006. Denali Stud sold Idol for $375,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale.
“He was very babyish when we got him,” said Torie Gladwell. “He was definitely going to need some time to mature and to fill out. Other than that, he was super smart and took everything in stride. He trained really, really well–the couple of breezes that we got into him, we were pretty high on the colt, and we were actually hoping we would be able to sell him as a 2-year-old at one of the later sales just to give him some time.
She continued, “While we had him, he was really laid back, just more of a two-turn type horse. Pretty good size, but didn't have that big muscle just hanging off of him like some of these horses that we buy for the 2-year-old sales. You could tell he was an immature, leaner-made type of horse than what we would normally go buy for ourselves. Curlin was going so well, so we knew when this guy came in that he'd be one to watch.”
Acquired privately by David Meah for his client Calvin Nguyen, Idol was something of a work in progress. Debuting with a runner-up effort on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard Sept. 5, he graduated smartly over seven furlongs three weeks later, then added a 9 1/2-furlong allowance by 5 3/4 lengths in new track-record time of 1:55.97. Second and running on in the Dec. 26 GII San Antonio S., Idol was third to Express Train (Union Rags) in the GII San Pasqual S. Jan. 30 and benefitted from a jockey change to Joel Rosario to reverse form in the Big 'Cap (see below).
WATCH: Idol rallies to win the GI Santa Anita H.
“They did right by the horse and the horse has done right by them,” Gladwell said. “They gave him a little time, which is what he needed, and he's shown up ever since. He's turned into a really nice horse. We're happy for all the connections.”
Top Line was represented by its second consecutive winner of the lucrative Riyadh Dirt Sprint when Copano Kicking (Spring At Last) rallied to best pacesetting Matera Sky (Speightstown) at King Abdulaziz Racetrack Feb. 20 (video). Top Line grad New York Central (Tapit) defeated the same rival in the inaugural running of that event in 2020.
A $19,000 buyback as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2016, Copano Kicking was sold to owner Sachiaki Kobayashi for $100,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale.
“He breezed really well for us at Gulfstream and we tried to get so many different people to buy him, but he ended up having a couple of issues that kept him from staying here,” she said. “They have done a fantastic job training the horse. The Japanese know Top Line because of Copano and it's great.”
A three-time winner at group level on the dirt in Japan, Copano Kicking was snapping a five-race losing streak in the $1.5-million Riyadh Dirt Sprint.
“I am just glad the connections decided to take him out there,” Gladwell said. “I really didn't think he had a shot of winning that race, because I wasn't sure his form was back to what it was when he was winning all those races in Japan. I was very proud of him that he ran as big as he ran.”
Copano Kicking makes his next start in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Mar. 27.
About seven hours after Idol gave Top Line its second Grade I-winning graduate (No Parole was their first), the Torie Gladwell-bred Chancheng Prince (Carpe Diem) proved victorious at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong (video). The Class 3 handicap paled in importance, but was no less thrilling for Gladwell.
“I bred that horse with my mom [in the name of Mystic Bloodstock] and when I bring my homebreds over to the 2-year-old sales, I get pretty attached to them,” she said. “When he in particular sold, I was devastated that he sold to Hong Kong. I didn't know anything about Hong Kong racing at the time. The underbidder was Dennis O'Neill and I was really excited that he might be going out to California and that Doug O'Neill was going to get him.
She added, “I was in the back ring and I saw Dennis bidding on the horse and the hammer dropped inside the ring. I go running around there to see who bought him and it was a gentleman I didn't recognize. My husband went up to him to say 'thank you,' came back and said he was going to Hong Kong and I just broke down in tears. I was so upset. I left the sale, but I am just so glad that it's worked out and that he's done so well over there.”
Chancheng Prince, a $150,000 purchase out of the 2019 OBS April Sale, now has a record of 3-2-2 from 10 starts and earnings of $338,571. Gladwell said the yearling half-sister to Chancheng Prince by Mastery “looks really fast” and is likely to be pointed to next year's breeze-up sales.
The Gladwells are looking forward to the beginning of this year's under-tack sales next week at OBS.
“I think it's going to be a good market,” Gladwell said. “[Wednesday], the day before the first breeze show, I am seeing a lot of new faces and the people are there doing their homework pre-breeze day. I don't know what kind of budget the agents are going to be on, whether they have big orders or small orders or if owners are cutting back, I really haven't heard that yet. The only thing that is going to affect the sales this year is the lack of the Korean buyers, but they don't buy too many out of March, so you won't see that impact until the April and Maryland sales.”
Top Line consigns 16 to OBS March, a half-dozen to Fasig-Tipton Florida Mar. 31 and about 50 head for OBS April.
Golden Sixty extended his unbeaten run to 13 straight wins with victory in Sunday's Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin.
However, Hong Kong's highest rated horse was forced to spare no effort as he scrambled to add a third consecutive Group 1 to his glittering record which now stands at 16 wins from 17 starts, four shy of Silent Witness' record 17 consecutive wins.
Dropped out to his customary position at the rear of the field, the Medaglia d'Oro gelding began his surge in the straight but the challenge from Furore on the inside required jockey Vincent Ho to call on everything that Golden Sixty could give and, it proved just enough as he prevailed by a short head, the smallest margin of any of his wins.
“I was quite confident that I would stay ahead of them but we fought hard – it wasn't easy, it was a bit unexpected to be that close. I was just worried about the horse to the inside of him because Golden Sixty laid in a bit, he would have won easier if he didn't do that,” Ho said.
“Once he went past Exultant he wanted to lay in – it made it difficult for me but it's still a victory,” the 30-year-old added.
Sunday's win was both a first in the Gold Cup for trainer Francis Lui and jockey Vincent Ho.
“I think you can't really change the horse's character – when he passed the third horse (Exultant), Golden Sixty thinks he has finished the job, but there's another horse on the inside,” Lui said.
Now rated 131, Golden Sixty is only two wins shy of Beauty Generation's single-season record of eight and, he has the first two legs of Hong Kong's Triple Crown in the bag after claiming last month's G1 Stewards' Cup.
“I will think about the third leg of the Triple Crown, we also have a race in April in mind,” Lui said referencing FWD Champions Day.
The third and final leg of the Triple Crown is the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup on 23 May and, if successful stepping up to 12 furlongs in three months' time, he could become the second horse after River Verdon in the 1993/94 racing season to win the Triple Crown.
Horse of the Year Exultant battled into third place under Zac Purton, while Glorious Dragon sealed fourth under Matthew Poon behind him, the second of the Lui-trained runners.
