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“It’s Been a Good Run So Far:” Ward Prepares for Possible Last Dance with Campanelle

Wesley Ward would be the first to admit that he has a soft spot for his globe-trotting Breeders' Cup contender Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB} – Janina {GB}, by Namid {GB}).

“It's hard not to like a filly that has accomplished what she has,” he said with a smile. “Just from being around her, you know how special she is.”

For over two years, Campanelle has been a consistent presence in Ward's converted tobacco barn adjacent to the Keeneland grounds. The Stonestreet Stables representative has thrived on racing's biggest stages throughout her career, earning two victories at Royal Ascot and claiming the 2020 G1 Darley Prix Morny in Deauville, but soon she will make what could well be the final start of her career on her home turf in Lexington.

Over the weekend, the 4-year-old put in her final work over the Keeneland turf, going five furlongs in 1:03.80 on Saturday in preparation for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

Ward spoke highly of how Campanelle is coming into the race.

“She thrives at Keeneland and I'm sure she's probably going to run the race of her life. Every workout is better than the next and she's glowing right now. I think she's going to have a great chance here.”

From there, Campanelle will take one of the shorter journeys of her career to travel to Fasig-Tipton for the 'Night of the Stars' Sale, where she will sell as Hip 272 with Eaton Sales as a racing or broodmare prospect.

Ward has been high on the Irish-bred daughter of Kodiac from the beginning. Picked out by Ben McElroy from Book 1 of the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Campanelle stood out as soon as she arrived in Lexington in the spring of her juvenile year.

“She was a big, beautiful filly and you could tell that physically, she was the standout of that particular group that Ben had sent in,” Ward recalled. “When we started training her we could really see the athleticism, and as soon as we got her on the grass, it was like a fish to water. She just took right off.”

The winner of the G2 Queen Mary S. and G1 Darley Prix Morny during her juvenile season, Campanelle returned to the prestigious Ascot meet at three to defeat males in the 2021 G1 Commonwealth Cup.

This year, the long-striding turf sprinter opened her season with a win in the Giant's Causeway S. at Keeneland, finished in a dead heat for third in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. in her third trip to Ascot, and then got her first graded stakes win on American soil in the GIII Mint Ladies Sprint S.

“The thing about this filly is that she runs on any track and on any surface as far as conditions go,” Ward explained. “She'll run if it's a deep, soggy going or if it's a hard, firm turf. She just runs on anything there is. Every time you lead her over she tries so hard and physically, she's just a beautiful filly. Anyone could take a look at her and know that she's at the upper echelon of Thoroughbred racing right now.”

Stonestreet's Barbara Banke echoed that Campanelle has the looks and the heart to rank her among the elite members of Stonestreet's accomplished racing stable.

“It's really special to have a horse that can win among stakes competition in three different countries in England, France and the United States,” Banke said. “She carries herself well and she has a sense of dignity. She's got a lot of fight and she always gives it her best effort.”

Placing Campanelle in the Fasig-Tipton November Sale was no easy decision for Banke, but the commercial breeder said that ultimately, she believes that it will put Campanelle in the best position for success as she moves on to the next chapter of her career.

“When she goes on to be a broodmare, I think that she's worthy of the best turf sires in the world,” Banke explained. “Those are found more in Europe or Japan. Stonestreet is a very hands-on, detail-oriented breeding operation here in Kentucky and I don't think I could give her the focus and oversight she deserves if she were somewhere else. I think she needs to go to the elite turf sires. Someday we will have those here in America as well, but for her, I think this is the best thing. She will become the queen of someone's breeding operation.”

“Campanelle really reflects the international nature of our business today,” said Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning. “She's a tribute to the vision and the passion of an owner like Barbara Banke. Barbara's commitment to racing and breeding is really second to none and it's cool to see how they developed a plan of pointing these brilliant horses to Royal Ascot and they been able to succeed with it on several occasions.”

“I think the thing that makes Campanelle so attractive to buyers around the world is the combination of speed and consistency,” he continued. “She has answered the bell at Royal Ascot for three years in a row. She's by Kodiac, who has certainly done it the hard way but has been a tremendous stallion in Europe for many years. She's got worldwide appeal. It would not be surprising to see her produce major runners wherever she happens to go from here.”

Sara Gordon

Before Campanelle goes through the ring at Fasig-Tipton, Banke is looking forward to watching the brilliant filly represent her gold and burgundy colors one last time.

“I'm feeling pretty confident going into the Breeders' Cup and the people in the barn are feeling pretty confident in her as well,” Banke said. “She has some good competition in the race, including her stablemate Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), but she's a fighter and so I think my money is on her.”

Ward is also anticipating the return to the Breeders' Cup with his star filly, but he added that he is holding out hope that it won't be their last race together.

“When she goes in the ring, I'll have mixed emotions,” he admitted. “I'll be proud of what our team has accomplished with her, but I'll be sad if she doesn't come back to our barn. She is very lightly raced and is very sound. She is just peaking right now. I believe that with whatever hands she lands in, she's going to have a big year next year. Hopefully she comes back to our tobacco barn here, but whatever happens, it's been a good run so far.”

To take a look at more 'Spotlight on the Night of the Stars' features, click here.

The post “It’s Been a Good Run So Far:” Ward Prepares for Possible Last Dance with Campanelle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Classy Sprinters Head Tuesday’s Goffs HIT Sale

One of the main attractions of the Goffs Autumn Horses In Training Sale on Tuesday is Gustavus Weston (Ire) (Equiano {Fr}), the four-time winner whose career highlight came when he landed the G2 Greenlands S. at the Curragh last year.

On that occasion, Joe Murphy's charge was chased home by Make A Challenge (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a 10-time winner for Denis Hogan, who is also in the sale.

Hogan said of his eight-strong draft, “We've a nice draft of horses going to Goffs. We'll be sorry to see some of them go. We've eight going and Ransom (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who won just the other night at Dundalk, is in there.

“So is Florence Thompson (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), who has placed about 20 times for us. There's some of them we'd love to keep and, if some owners were to express an interest, we could look at doing that.”

Those classy sprinters will be joined by a much-reduced but quality trio from the Aga Khan Studs. It features Riyami (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), rated 66 and winless in five starts for Michael Halford, the 77-rated Karakoul (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}), who has placed three times, and 1m4f winner Shajak (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}), both of whom are trained by Johnny Murtagh.

The supplementary lots for the sale are well worth checking out as well. Listed as lots 136 to 144, they are headed by the Group 3-placed Strong Johnson (Ire) (Le Cadre Noi {Ire}) from Beechcourt Stables.

Graduates from this sale have made an impact all over the world, none more so than Melbourne Cup winner and Irish St. Leger runner-up Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who was bought Glebe House Stables by Kerr & Co Ltd for €200,000 in 2018.

Saltonstall is another high-profile graduate. Sold by Michael Halford's Copper Beech Stables in 2018 for €44,000 to Shamrock TB/Compas Equine, Saltonstall (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) has proved to be a money-spinner for the Ado McGuinness stable and notched his ninth career success last month at Leopardstown.

Hot on the heels of the horses-in-training sale is two days of yearling sales at Goffs on Wednesday and Thursday. The Autumn Yearling Sale has punched above its weight in recent years with Quick Suzy (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}) a notable graduate.

Quick Suzy was snapped up by Aoife Dunphy for just €20,000 when this sale took place online in 2020. She went on to win the Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot for Gavin Cromwell and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

The Autumn Horses In Training Sale kicks off at 12pm on Tuesday while the Autumn Yearling Sale begins at 10am on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Week in Review: Sky’s the Limit When You’re 5-for-5

The unbeaten 2-year-old Iowa-bred gelding Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca), who has never been headed while winning five dirt races by a combined 59 3/4 lengths, will have considerable rooting interest on Friday in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

But he's no longer the only five-for-five juvenile in North America after a win Saturday by the filly Back to Ohio (Midshipman), who cruised to a 7 1/4-length romp against Ohio-bred stakes company at Mahoning Valley.

It's not unusual for 2-year-olds to rack up wins if they compete largely against state-bred stakes company. But Tyler's Tribe is different because he's run legit 90+ Beyer Speed Figures on several occasions while dominating everyone who's lined up against him at Prairie Meadows, meriting his shot at the Breeders' Cup.

Back to Ohio hasn't garnered the same lofty figs just yet. But she signaled promise six months ago when unleashing a co-fastest eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 during her OBSAPR under-tack session, then hammered for $385,000 for Vince Foglia, who now races her under his stable name, Patricia's Hope LLC.

That's quite a cash outlay for a Buckeye-bred. But Back to Ohio has already earned $245,700 of it back for Foglia since debuting June 23.

Bred by Trail M Boarding & Guest Farm, the filly out of Sheza Runaway Star was pinhooked for $70,000 by Top Line Sales from the Mill Ridge Sales consignment at last year's FTKOCT. After Foglia purchased her this spring, trainer Larry Rivelli had her ready for a 4-5 winning unveiling against open company at Presque Isle Downs, leading to 3-5 favoritism in start number two, an Ohio-bred stakes at Belterra Park on July 8.

Back to Ohio uncorked a near-winning effort that day, but crossed the line second, beaten a neck, with the rest of the shell-shocked field at least 12 1/4 lengths in arrears. But the filly who narrowly beat her subsequently got disqualified because of a positive post-race drug test, and Back to Ohio was later ruled the official victress.

She scored in another state-bred stakes Aug. 13 at Thistledown by 5 1/2 lengths as the 9-10 favorite, then bested open-company fillies at Presque Isle by 2 1/2 lengths in a $99,900 stakes.

Her powerhouse performance in the 1 1/16-mile $100,000 John W. Galbreath S. on Oct. 29 wasn't without an anxious moment at the start. Making her two-turn debut, Back to Ohio got crunched at the break, then settled willingly and stalked a dueling duo until the far turn, when she inhaled the pacemakers and drew off under the lightest of encouragement from jockey Jareth Loveberry as the 2-5 chalk.

Breeders' Cup week is now upon us. Back to Ohio won't be there and Tyler's Tribe will. But that's not the point.

When you're five-for-five, the sky's the limit, and everybody in the Back to Ohio equation–from small-scale breeders to her well-established owner, trainer and jockey connections–can enjoy the rush that comes with the promise of possibility.

Backspin, baby!

In May, TDN colleague Bill Finley profiled Houston Astros all-star third baseman Alex Bregman's first win as a Thoroughbred owner in a partnership that involves his family members. On Saturday night, the slugger clocked a two-run homer to propel his team to victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to even the World Series at one game apiece.

Bregman Family Racing LLC also took a step up in class over the weekend. Baby Got Backspin (Kantharos), a 2-year-old maiden filly competing against winners, ran third at 9-1 odds in the $200,000 Myrtlewood S. at Keeneland.

The “backspin” part of the filly's name references a baseball term that describes how power hitters launch batted balls over long distances.

An unraced colt in the Bregman stable is Golden Sombrero (Medaglia d'Oro), named after the inglorious feat of striking out four times in a game.

“Total reverse psychology,” Bregman joked about the name choice to baseball writer Ken Rosenthal in a Sunday piece in The Athletic.

Down to the wire…

Maybe someday in the near future the sport will feature prop bets or exchange wagering on winning meet-specific titles. We're not quite at that point yet, but the closing weekend at Keeneland would have provided an intriguing example, as the winningest owner, trainer and jockey honors all were decided on the final day of racing.

The riding-title race in particular was dramatic: Tyler Gaffalione notched two victories Friday to give him 19 going into the final day of the 17-day fall meet. His closest pursuer, Luis Saez, won one race on Friday to put him at 18. On the final day of the meet, Gaffalione, seeking his sixth Keeneland riding title, had eight mounts versus 10 for Saez.

Saez and Gaffalione ran one-two in that order in the Saturday opener. They remained tied for the title until race five, won by Saez, then Gaffalione captured the eighth, again deadlocking the score. They both had mounts in the five-horse featured ninth, in which Gaffalione got third while Saez was last on the favorite.

Tied going into the nightcap, Gaffalione had no mount, but Saez pulled off a 26-1 shocker, securing the riding title in an unlikely fashion.

Tour de Fort

There are still a handful of tracks that card closing-day “marathon” races on the final days of race meets, and Fort Erie is one of them.

Known locally as the “Tour de Fort,” the 2 mile and 70 yard curtain-closer this year was just pure fun to watch for the novelty of it (with the beautiful late-October Ontario foliage adding style points).

The $10,000 starter/optional $12,500 claimer Oct. 24 featured too-fast-to-last splits of :23.89 and :47.73 for the opening quarter and half, and the eventual winner, Trinity Gold (Flat Out) was charted as being 23 lengths last during the first of two laps.

Jockey Brandon Boulanger started to let the three-for-15 gelding unwind at the five-eighths pole the second time down the backstretch. The move appeared almost certainly premature considering how rapidly Trinity Gold picked off the pack with a rush that landed him on the lead with 3 1/2 furlongs still left in the race and odds-on favorite Seventyseven Stone (Seventysevenatreet) coming at him full-tilt.

The two stayers hooked up for a hard-fought, length-of-stretch drive that featured Trinity Gold edging away by 2 ½ lengths under the wire with the rest of the stragglers no closer than 12 lengths back in 3:35.98. George Newland trained the winner for Trinity Racing Stables, Inc.

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Nick Tammaro Produces His First Breeders’ Cup Morning Line

By J. N. Campbell

As the Breeders' Cup Festival looms, Nick Tammaro is delving deep into the past performances. It's not to participate in the BC Betting Challenge. He's too principled. There is a more ardent task at hand-making the morning line.

Last month, Tammaro got the call from Keeneland about taking over the October Meet's duties, previously held by longtime oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. “It was a true honor to even be considered,” he said. “I have been doing this at Sam Houston Race Park and the chance to make the line at such a unique place as Keeneland is special.” The Breeders' Cup offer followed.

A Houston native who grew up in Dallas, Tammaro has a diverse resume. He's forged a career in the industry these past number of years that includes becoming a public handicapper to serving as the announcer at his home track. Raised by a horseplaying father who loved the sport, when asked by his son what families do on Saturdays, Tammaro recalls his father telling him, “I don't know, let's not find out.” Nick's father passed away earlier this year, but to hear him tell it, “I am sure Dad is up there bending someone's ear about how I am making the line for the Breeders' Cup.”

While it may be a distinct honor, crafting a morning line is a rather thankless pursuit. Tammaro makes an apt comparison. “You're a grocery store produce manager in that you only hear from customers when the tomatoes and lettuce are putrid.” This is one of those pressure-packed jobs at a racetrack with an interesting history.

In another age, the great turf writer Whitney Tower penned a piece for Sports Illustrated on March 2, 1959 entitled, “Hanging on the Morning Line,” in which he interviewed “Mr. Price Maker.” Tower told readers, “A friend…works at his own regular job six days a week, rarely gets to the races more than 15 times a year, and yet for the last 10 years has been among the top men in this difficult and exacting profession.” Enjoying his anonymity, Mr. Price Maker summed up his profession by adding, “My job is essentially one of evaluation rather than of observation.”

Nowadays, we know exactly who the culprit is that makes the odds. Tammaro and his colleagues regularly face strict scrutiny when something is off. Not all of it makes sense. “I always crack up when I put a horse at 8-1, and it goes off at 4, because that sends people into a furor on Twitter,” he said. “But when he is 3-1 and ends up 6-5, there is silence.” Like a weatherman forecasting a flash flood, predicting the odds in an age where computer-assisted wagering can sink a runner's payouts in seconds, there are numerous complexities when it comes to constructing the line.
Producing odds is all about observing myriad factors, with the goal of predicting what the public thinks the prices will be when a race goes off as opposed to who the linemaker thinks will win.
Tammaro is guided primarily by math. Every odds number represents a percentage of the betting pool, and using a spreadsheet, he balances the field until it adds up to a magic number of 120. When it comes to percentages, if he makes a horse 2-1, then he is saying that 33.33% of the public is betting on that horse to win. He calculates this with a formula: 2/1=2; that 2+1=3; 100/3=33.33). The more evenly the field is matched, the tougher it is to differentiate the odds of one horse with that of another.

Taking a cue from his handicapping, this oddsmaker has developed a two-fold system to sweep through the form once a field is drawn. This can be tricky because tracks release who is entered sometimes a week in advance of the race. “What I try to do is take a break after an initial run through,” Tammaro explained. “I think that all goes into the math and improvisation behind constructing an accurate morning line.” Watching replays, workouts, and looking at everything, from speed figures to the trainer and jockey statistics during a meet, are essential. “I couldn't make a line if I wasn't directly following a track,” he said. “I think it would be too difficult.” Everyone might not agree, but like an umpire calling balls and strikes, it's the human element that persists with this job.

In particular, the Breeders' Cup is a highly-specialized event when it comes to the odds because not only do you have some of the best pointing to the post, but there are international runners that are shipping in from around the world. Tammaro said he would feel the pressure, but admitted much of it is self-imposed, “No one will scrutinize what I do more than me.” For instance, when it comes to the Breeders' Cup GI Juvenile, GI Distaff, and GI Classic, he is faced with different puzzles in each race.

The Juvenile started out with a shortlist of competitors, but over the past few weeks, that has grown. He thinks that it could end up with 10 or 12 entered, but Bob Baffert's undefeated Southern California champion, Cave Rock (Arrogate) will be the morning-line favorite. “I don't see him being higher than 4-5 at this point,” Tammaro said. “I think the connections, plus his latest speed figure, make him better than Forte (Violence), who is a clear second choice.”

In for the Distaff, the Todd Pletcher matchup has him thinking that Nest (Curlin) will be a slight favorite at 8-5 over her older stablemate, Malathaat (Curlin) at 5-2. “This groundswell for Nest that the public is backing is remarkable, but I don't think her races after Belmont were against top competition. Malathaat should be the favorite, but that's not my job.” He said the toughest call was what to do with Steve Asmussen's Clairiere. At 4-1, his third choice is a real mystery, especially after a poor showing in the G1 Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga in August.

When it comes to the Classic, Tammaro is clear on this marquee event. John Sadler's Flightline (Tapit) is the deserving favorite. Rarely do oddsmakers in horse racing assign 1-9, and he is shying away from doing so. Tammaro is more in the 3-5 range, which still takes a significant piece of the pie. “I can't go that low because it takes away too much from the others, so 62.5% makes more sense.” The closest competitors, Epicenter (Not This Time), Life Is Good (Into Mischief), and Taiba (Gun Runner), will come in at 5-1 (16.66%), 6-1 (14.29%), and 8-1 (11.11%), respectively. He believes that Rich Strike (Keen Ice), beaten by Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) last time in the GII Lukas Classic, will end up at 20-1 (4.76%). Tammaro elaborated, “Hot Rod is probably going to be 15-1 (6.25%), based on the Lukas, and I think will be under the radar, what with the likes of Epicenter taking significant action.”

Still, he said he was not overly concerned about this slate. Rather, it's the races like the Juvenile Turf Sprint or Juvenile Turf, with their large and diverse fields, that can be more of a challenge. “Charlie Appleby runners are going to play a major factor, just like Aidan O'Brien's entries did in the past, but I will have my hands full with some of those races that could go in any direction,” Tammaro said.

The modern version of “Mr. Price Maker,” who also works full-time at a Houston staffing agency, won't shy away from a trip to Keeneland next week. After all, any racetrack is what he describes as his “happy place,” as he remembers those trips with his father. With that in mind, Nick Tammaro will produce the morning line odds for the Breeders' Cup to the best of his ability. Then customers can eye the tomatoes and lettuce.

HOW TAMMARO'S CLASSIC ADDS UP
Horse ML % of pool
Flightline 3/5 62.5%
Epicenter 5/1 16%
Life Is Good 6/1 14%
Taiba 8/1 11%
Hot Rod Charlie 15/1 6%
Rich Strike 20/1 5%

Happy Saver 30/1 3%

Total 117.5%

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