Brazilian Champ, U.S. Grade I Winner Ivar Retired

Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}–May Be Now, by Smart Strike), a dual Group 1 winner in Argentina and later winner of the GI Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland, has been retired from racing and will enter stud for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere breeding season at Haras Carampangue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The news was announced jointly on Twitter by Stud RDI and Bonne Chance Farm, who campaigned Ivar in partnership.

Perfect in three starts as a late-season juvenile in Argentina, Ivar annexed a Churchill allowance in his second U.S. appearance for Kentucky Oaks-winning trainer Paolo Lobo in the spring of 2020 and two starts later defeated Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Shadwell Turf Mile. He went on to finish a close fourth at 7-1 behind Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Mile.

Fourth when first off a five-month layoff in defense of his Turf Mile title in the fall of 2021, Ivar ran home strongly to round out the trifecta behind the impressive Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar and was subsequently runner-up to champion Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in last year's GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile, to 'TDN Rising Star' Annapolis (War Front) in the Coolmore Turf Mile and closed his career with a second in this year's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf. The Southern Hemisphere 6-year-old retires with a record of 5-3-2 from 15 starts and earnings of $1,551,053.

Ivar's dam, a $60,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, became a Group 2 winner in Brazil before her immediate female family took off. Her year-older half-sister Ann of the Dance (English Channel) won in stakes company and was placed at Grade III level and Al's Gal (English Channel) took out the GI E.P. Taylor S. in 2016. May Be Now was sold for $67,000 in foal to Hard Spun at Keeneland November in 2017. Ivar's late sire was also responsible for Stud RDI and Bonne Chance's 2021 GI Keeneland Turf Mile hero In Love (Brz).

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Brazilian-Bred ‘Var’-y Impressive in Shadwell Mile

Undefeated in three Argentinian starts, including two daylight wins at Group 1 level, and competitive in stakes company in this country, Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}) settled in the latter third of the field, was ridden quietly into the final 2 1/2 furlongs by Joe Talamo and exploded through the Keeneland stretch to up-end a high-class field in Saturday’s GI Shadwell Turf Mile, locking up a spot in the gate for the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile over the same course and distance exactly five weeks down the line.

Drawn widest in a field reduced to nine by a pair of scratches–including GI Fourstardave H. winner Halladay (War Front)–Ivar was getting blinkers off for the Shadwell and settled off the rail in about seventh position passing halfway as Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) set the pace in advance of the lightly raced Born Great (Scat Daddy). Still traveling strongly around the bend, Ivar followed the move of favored ‘TDN Rising Star’ Analyze It (Point of Entry), was pulled off that one’s heels and into the clear and covered his final two furlongs in a slick :22.39 en route to a one-length success. Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) caboosed the field for the opening six panels and was home even more quickly than the winner (:22.13) while traveling 34 feet less, according to Trakus. Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was a perfect-trip third. The final time of 1:33.99 was the fastest Shadwell Mile against the clock since the race sponsor’s Altibr (Ire) (Charnwood Forest {Ire}) covered the distance in 1:33.72 in 2000.

“We were very worried about the [outside 11] post position, but his style if you see his races in Argentina, he always comes from off the pace–way off the pace,” said winning trainer Paolo Lobo. “Today, it worked very well. I was very concerned because of the first turn. Joe [Talamo] rode him 100% magnificent.”

Winner at home of the G1 Gran Criterium and G1 Estrellas Juvenile, each by a half-dozen lengths, Ivar was a never-nearer fifth in his U.S. debut in Churchill allowance company May 21 before adding blinkers and Talamo for a coast-to-coast, two-length allowance tally June 18. He attended fractions of :44.77 and 1:07.86 when last seen in the Sept. 7 Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs and was not disgraced in being defeated less than two lengths into third.

Pedigree Notes:

The sire of 31 winners from three crops in his time in Japan, Agnes Gold has since been responsible for 23 group winners in South America and seven top-level winners in addition to Ivar. The 4-year-old’s American-bred dam was a Group 2 winner in Brazil and was represented there by three winners from as many to race before being sold for $67,000 in foal to Hard Spun at Keeneland November in 2017. That produce, a colt named Hard Strike that cost $75,000 as a FTKJUL yearling last year, is campaigned by Walking L Thoroughbreds and Ken McPeek and was a maiden winner at first asking going a mile over the Ellis Park turf course July 4. May Be Now, closely related to GISW Al’s Gal (English Channel) and his SW/GSP full-sister Ann of the Dance, is also the dam of a yearling filly by Cupid and a filly foal by Hard Spun and was among the first book of mares bred to dual-surface GISW Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}), like Agnes Gold a paternal grandson of the legendary Sunday Silence. The cross of Sunday Silence over Smart Strike mares is also responsible for GSWs Bright Thought (Hat Trick {Jpn}) and Epos (Jpn) (Just a Way {Jpn}).

Saturday, Keeneland
SHADWELL TURF MILE S.-GI, $750,000, Keeneland, 10-3, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:33.99, fm.
1–IVAR (BRZ), 126, c, 4, by Agnes Gold (Jpn)
1st Dam: May Be Now, by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Dans La Ville (Chi), by Winning
3rd Dam: Syracuse, by Sharp-Eyed Quillo
O-Bonne Chance Farm LLC & Stud R D I LLC; B-Stud Rio Dois Irmaos (BRZ); T-Paulo H Lobo; J-Joseph Talamo. $450,000. Lifetime Record: 7-5-0-1, $579,413. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: B.
2–Raging Bull (Fr), 126, h, 5, Dark Angel (Ire)–Rosa Bonheur, by Mr. Greeley. (€90,000 Ylg ’16 GOFORB). O-Peter M Brant; B-Dayton Investments Limited (FR); T-Chad C Brown. $150,000.
3–Without Parole (GB), 126, h, 5, Frankel (GB)–Without You Babe, by Lemon Drop Kid. (650,000gns RNA Ylg ’16 TATOCT). O-John D & Tanya Gunther; B-Mr John Gunther (GB); T-Chad C Brown. $75,000.
Margins: 1, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 14.40, 3.00, 10.10.
Also Ran: Casa Creed, Flavius, Parlor, Bowies Hero, Analyze It, Born Great. Scratched: Halladay, Spectacular Gem.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton

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Chances Galore in Deep Shadwell Mile

Last-out Grade I winner Halladay (War Front) is favored on the morning line for Saturday’s GI Shadwell Turf Mile S. at Keeneland, but there are strong contenders up and down the lineup of the 11-horse “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Dual stakes placed last fall as a sophomore, Harrell Ventures’ gray captured the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream to close his season before running fourth in the GIII Tampa Bay S. Feb. 8. Scoring victories with triple-digit Beyers in an optional claimer and the Sunshine Forever S. this spring in Hallandale, he settled for fourth when taken off the lead in the GII Bernard Baruch H., then reverted to his previous tactics and went wire to wire in the GI Fourstardave H. Aug. 22 at Saratoga.

Chad Brown, who failed to crack the superfecta with a quartet of challengers in the Fourstardave, is back with another foursome here. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Analyze It (Point of Entry) leads the charge in his second start off a long layoff. Winning his first three outings by a combined 15 3/4 lengths, the bay then finished second by a neck in the GIII Pennine Ridge S., by a head in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and again by a neck in the GI Secretariat S. Fourth as the chalk in this event two falls ago, he went to the bench after a third in the 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup Mile and returned after over 22 months off to take the GIII Red Bank S. last out Sept. 5 at Monmouth.

Lightly-raced Flavius (War Front) dons the Juddmonte colors for Brown. Two-for-three in Ireland for Dermot Weld, he was fourth in his first two Stateside starts before running third with late traffic trouble in the First Defence S. June 7 at Belmont. The homebred put it all together with a late-running triumph in the Tourist Mile S. last out Sept. 7, earning a career-high 105 Beyer. Rounding out the Brown contingent are MGISW Raging Bull (Dark Angel {Ire}), who removes blinkers following a mild fifth in the Fourstardave, and Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a Group 1 winner in Great Britain who is winless so far in five North American starts.

Longshot contenders include Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), Born Great (Scat Daddy) and Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}). Casa Creed, last year’s GII Hall of Fame S. winner, ran two sneaky-good races to start his 4-year-old campaign and closed well to be third in the slow-paced Fourstardave. Born Great, who has run just three times, looks to strike while the iron’s hot after scoring two sharp successes in a seven-day span at Kentucky Downs. Ivar, a dual Group 1 winner in Argentina, upset a Churchill optional claimer with a 100 Beyer two back and was a strong third after dueling on a fast pace in the Tourist Mile.

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All Grade 1 Cross Country Pick 5 Features Free Equibase Past Performances

A Cross Country Pick 5 that encompasses five Grade 1 contests across Belmont Park and Keeneland Race Course will highlight exciting action on Saturday in a wager hosted by the New York Racing Association, Inc.

Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Top-caliber racing will start at Belmont in Race 7 at 4:03 p.m. Eastern with the $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on the Widener course. Grade 1-winning multimillionaires Channel Maker and Sadler's Joy will face one another for the 15th time, while 2-1 morning-line favorite Rockemperor will look to build on a last-out third-place effort to stablemate Digital Age in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic on September 5 at Churchill Downs. In his prior effort, he was second, beaten by a neck to stablemate Instilled Regard, in the Grade 1 Manhattan on July 4 at Belmont, earning a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure. New York-bred Cross Border, the winner of the Grade 2 Bowling Green on August 1 at Saratoga, also will contend in the seven-horse field.

Keeneland will host the first of its three races in the sequence with the $350,000 First Lady for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up going one mile on the turf in Race 8 at 4:51 p.m. Trainer Chad Brown trains two of the field's six entrants for a race that is a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 7 at the same track, saddling 2019 champion grass mare Uni and Newspaperofrecord, winner of the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will send out Crystal Lake, with the field also comprising Beau Recall, Dalika and Daddy Is a Legend.

Another Breeders' Cup qualifier will highlight the third leg back at Belmont, where a nine-horse field of sophomores will compete in the 71st running of the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational going 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf in Race 9 at 5:06 p.m. A spot in the Grade 1, $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf on November 7 will be on the line for a race that features the top-three finishers of the Saratoga Derby Invitational – Domestic Spending, Gufo and No Word – all returning for a rematch. The Brown-trained Domestic Spending, who outlasted the Christophe Clement-conditioned Gufo by a head in August, has three wins in four career starts. Other contenders include Mo Ready, South Bend, Pixelate, Venezuelan Hug, Moon Over Miami and Ajourneytofreedom.

Keeneland will conclude the wager with the final two legs, starting with the $400,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity for juveniles going 1 1/16 miles on the main track in Race 8 at 5:24 p.m. A spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile will be on the line, with Godolphin homebred Essential Quality, a winner on Kentucky Derby Day last month at Churchill Downs, headlining a nine-horse field. King Fury, trained by two-time Breeders' Futurity winner Kenny McPeek, was a 2 ¾ length debut winner going 1 1/16 miles on September 3.

The finale will be the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile for 3-year-olds and up in Race 10 at 5:57 p.m. Halladay, the winner of the Grade 1 Fourstardave this summer at Saratoga, will look for additional glory in a race that's an automatic qualifier to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile on November 7, though Halladay earned a spot in the race with his last-out victory. Other contenders looking to punch a return ticket to Keeneland include Grade 1-winners Bowies Hero and Raging Bull, as well as Group 1-victors in Without Parole [Great Britain] and Ivar [Brazil].

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, October 3:

  • Leg 1 – Belmont, Race 7: G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (4:03 p.m.)
  • Leg 2 – Keeneland, Race 8: G1 First Lady (4:51 p.m.)
  • Leg 3 – Belmont, Race 9: G1 Belmont Derby Invitational (5:06 p.m.)
  • Leg 4 – Keeneland, Race 9: G1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (5:24 p.m.)
  • Leg 5 – Keeneland, Race 10: G1 Shadwell Turf Mile (5:57 p.m.)

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