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Pappacap Brings Strongest Juvenile Form Into Lecomte

Much to the delight of owner/breeder Rustlewood Farm and trainer Mark Casse, Pappacap (Gun Runner) will face nothing of the quality of the likes of 'TDN Rising Star' and likely Eclipse Award winner Corniche (Quality Road) when he makes his sophomore debut in Saturday's GIII Lecomte S. at the Fair Grounds.

The homebred was off the board just once from five runs in 2021, winning the GII Best Pal S. by open lengths at second asking before completing the exacta underneath the OBS April topper when beaten 3 1/4 lengths in the GI American Pharoah S. Oct. 1 and again in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar Nov. 5, where he sat a perfect trip, but could not quite match strides late and was 1 3/4 lengths adrift at the wire.

Casse is a two-time Lecomte winner, having unsaddled future Classic winner War of Will (War Front) in 2019 and Enforceable (Tapit) the following January.

“I never questioned where I wanted to go after the Breeders' Cup,” Casse said. “I feel really comfortable at Fair Grounds. We had a lot of success over that track. I think it's a great atmosphere and I have a lot of confidence in [assistant trainer] David Carroll. I think the track there suits him. He's a horse that wants to settle a little bit and not have to hustle a whole lot. He gets over the ground really well there.”

Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who runs one race prior to the Lecomte this weekend (see below), won last year's event for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Steve Asmussen and that formidable duo will be represented here by Epicenter (Not This Time). A speed-and-fade sixth in his seven-furlong debut at Churchill Sept. 18, he overcame the widest gate in a field of 10 to graduate by 3 1/2 lengths going the one-turn mile Nov. 13. The second choice to the dramatically overbet Rocket Dawg (Classic Empire) in the first running of the Gun Runner S. Dec. 26, the bay prompted the pace of Surfer Dude (Curlin) to the outside and powered home to take it by 6 1/2 lengths. Joel Rosario, who broke the colt's maiden, is back aboard this weekend.

Trafalgar (Lord Nelson) is an interesting new shooter for trainer Al Stall, Jr. and Andrea Pollack's Columbine Stable. The $100,000 FTKSEL yearling turned $310,000 OBS April breezer was a distant runner-up to the impressive and subsequently GISP Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) sprinting on Saratoga debut Sept. 4, then rallied stoutly–albeit with a strong pace to chase–to don cap and gown by 2 1/4 lengths in a one-mile test at Churchill Oct. 2. Conservatively spotted in a first-level allowance over course and distance Dec. 2, Trafalgar attended a much softer pace, looked in all sorts of trouble as first-out winner Naval Aviator (Tapit) rolled up to him late, but turned back that bid to score by a hard-fought head.

“He clearly waited on horses from the three-sixteenths to the sixteenth [pole],” Stall, Jr. said. “Here comes a Brad Cox horse [Naval Aviator] with a full head of steam, and I'm thinking, 'well there goes a 3-5 shot down the drain,' but he just re-engaged when he saw him and had to run hard the last part. I like the fact that he went from lollygagging around straight to fighting.”

Cyberknife (Gun Runner) is another with a two-turn victory to his credit, having idled in the final stages before clinging on for a half-length maiden breaker over track and trip on Dec. 26. Trainer Brad Cox adds blinkers to try to sharpen to colt's focus.

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After Eventful Campaign, Mandaloun Returns at Fair Grounds

Mandaloun (Into Mischief) finished second in the GI Kentucky Derby and will be declared the winner if Medina Spirit (Protonico) is ever disqualified for a betamethasone positive. He didn't cross the wire first in the GI Haskell S. either, but was awarded the win after the stewards disqualified Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) for interference. It pays to be both lucky and good.

But a page has been turned and Mandaloun will kick off his 4-year-old season Saturday at the Fair Grounds in the GIII Louisiana S., the first step in a campaign where he very well could prove that he can win at the Grade I level without the assistance of the stewards or a drug testing laboratory.

“You're always looking forward to a horses maturing and getting faster as they get older,” said his trainer, Brad Cox. “He's trained really well and his gallop-outs are really good. He's in a really good place right now, mentally and physically. I think this is a good spot to get him back started and see where he takes us.”

Mandaloun, 26-1 in the Derby, exceeded most expectations to finish second, a half-length behind the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit. More than eight months later, there hasn't been a word from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission about Medina Spirit's positive, one reason among many that it could take years for the 2021 Derby to be declared official. It's not something that Cox is worried about.

“I don't think about it,” Cox said of the Derby. “I really don't and that's because it is out of my hands. I've got enough going on that I don't need to worry about what ifs or what's going to happen. It's not the way you want to win a race of that caliber, so we'll just keep marching forward and develop Mandaloun and do enough with him to try to enhance his resume and get him off to the stallion barn where he can make some big, beautiful babies.”

Mandaloun skipped both the GI Preakness S. and the GI Belmont S. before resurfacing at Monmouth Park. He won the Pegasus, a prep for the Haskell, and then finished a nose behind Hot Rod Charlie in the the Haskell. Hot Rod Charlie was disqualified for bothering Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow).

“He was coming back on Hot Rod Charlie that day,” Cox said. “Obviously, Hot Rod Charlie got to the wire first, but I think that in a couple more jumps we could have got to him. It was a very courageous race and he showed a lot of grit and determination. It was really good race and it made him a Grade I winner.”

Mandaloun has not raced since the July 17 Haskell.

“He was asking for a break,” Cox said. “I wasn't real happy with his weight post-Haskell. He had two long ships from Churchill and it was really hot at Monmouth when he was there. He wasn't quire right. We did all the diagnostics on him and we never did find anything. We gave him some time and he's come back a fit, happy, healthy horse.”

In most Grade IIIs, a horse with Mandaloun's resume would be a heavy favorite, but he has to contend with Midnight Bourbon once again. It will be the fifth meeting between the two. Midnight Bourbon won last year's GIII Lecomte S. over Mandaloun but Mandaloun finished in front of his rival the next three times they met, including in the Derby where Midnight Bourbon was sixth. Midnight Bourbon is making his first start since finishing third in the Nov. 26 GI Clark S. at Churchill Downs.

“We've won this race twice and this is definitely the toughest edition we've ever been part of,” said Cox, who will also send out GIII Oklahoma Derby winner Warrant (Constitution) in the Louisiana. “Midnight Bourbon is a very good horse and I think they're thinking the same way we are, that this is a stepping stone to bigger and better things down the road. It's an opportunity for both horses to race out of their own stall, get a race under their belts and get their year kicked off.”

Cox said that Mandaloun's schedule beyond the Louisiana has yet to be determined, but the Feb. 26 GI Saudi Cup could be next for the colt owned by Juddmonte.

“(Juddmonte General Manager) Garrett O'Rourke will get together with the Juddmonte team and come up with a game plan in regards to the Saudi Cup and see of that is something we want to turn our attention toward,” Cox said. “For me, the mindset is it's one step at a time. Hopefully, he makes a good account of himself Saturday and then a race like the Saudi Cup could be part of his future.”

Cox has lost a likely Eclipse Award winner in Essential Quality (Tapit) to the breeding shed where he will soon be joined by former stablemate Knicks Go (Paynter). The latter, a cinch to be named Horse of the Year and champion older male, will be retired after starting in the Jan. 29 Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. That will leave a big void in the Cox barn, but he's optimistic it is one that Mandaloun can fill.

“This horse has always trained well,” Cox said. “Since the fall of his 2-year-old season we thought he was a horse that could take us to the Kentucky Derby, and he did. Had a great season last year and we're hopeful he can do even better this year.”

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Mating Plans: Glencrest Farm

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have John Greathouse III of Glencrest Farm.

INCREDIBLE YOU (m, 4, Uncle Mo–Zoftig, by Cozzene), to be bred to Charlatan

Incredible You is one of my best-bred mares. She is out of Zoftig, who successfully raced under the Glencrest colors before being sold and having an even better career as a broodmare. Incredible You is currently in foal to Authentic due at the end of January. We have chosen to send her to Charlatan this year. He was a special racehorse and he has looks to go with it. I think both horses suit each other nicely.

Incredible You's family has crossed well with the Gone West line in the past, producing Zaftig, winner of the GI Acorn. I thought it made a lot of sense from a physical standpoint as well. She's a bigger two-turn looking mare. I think he will add some hip and shoulder to her foals.

COPPER BAY (m, 4, Fast Anna–Free Spin, by Olympio), to be bred to Maclean's Music

Copper Bay is another mare we are excited about. She is a half-sister to Tapiture and is in foal to Munnings, making the foal a three-quarter to Finite. We wanted to continue to go to proven stallions with her at this point so we chose Maclean's Music. He continues to throw fast horses year after year and he's absolutely gorgeous.

She will hopefully add some leg to the foal while he will put top line and speed into her prospective foal. I think Maclean's Music has a chance to be a special sire with the start he's had so far at stud. He should only get better and better with the quality mares he will be getting the next couple years.

FLAT MEADOW (m, 7, War Chant–Figure of Beauty, by Street Cry {Ire}), to be bred to Mendelssohn

Flat Meadow is a mare we purchased in November in foal to Dialed In. Since her arrival at the farm, she's had two significant updates by two half-sisters. Both won stakes in their last races. We decided to send her to Mendelssohn. I've always felt like he was born to be a sire. He's incredibly well bred and is probably one of the best-looking horses I've ever seen. Flat Meadow has some turf in her family and I think he will add precocity to her foal. I'm excited to see what his foals can do on the track.

DELIA O'HARA (m, 5, Khozan–Starlet O'Hara, by Discreetly Mine) and VICTORIA BARKLEY (m, 4, Uncle Mo–Stanwyck, by Empire Maker), to be bred to Liam's Map

I have two maiden mares going to Liam's Map. Liam's Map was an extremely fast horse and I felt like he was one of the best value plays going into this breeding season based on what he's done so far at stud. He's bred a solid book of mares every year and I think his numbers will only improve going forward.

Delia O'Hara is a maiden half-sister to Winning Map that we bought privately. She's stakes-placed and [a] medium-size mare. We decided on Liam's Map because of her brother and hope he's as good as advertised. It never hurts selling foals that are three-quarters to good horses.

Victoria Barkley is an unraced daughter of Uncle Mo out of Stanwyck, a graded stakes half-sister to Giacomo and Tiago. We loved her physically and I think she suits Liam's Map perfectly. She's a mare we plan to keep long-term at the moment and we wanted to give her a solid start to her broodmare career going to a good proven stallion on the rise like Liam's Map.

FAY NA NA (m, 11, Majestic Warrior–She's Roughin It, by Forest Camp), to be bred to Yaupon

Fay Na Na is one of my favorite mares and I'm sending her to Yaupon. All she's done is throw good foals for me. She throws big strong foals, all of which have been good looking. Yaupon is one of the best-looking sons of Uncle Mo I've ever seen and had the speed to go with it. Couldn't be more excited about this mating.

MISSOURIA (m, 7, Bellamy Road–Nebraska, by Street Cry {Ire}) and BANDED (m, 13, Bandini–Rebalite, by More Than Ready), to be bred to Bolt d'Oro

I'm also breeding two mares to Bolt d'Oro. His foals and yearlings have really impressed me. They all look like runners. One of the best yearlings I have on the farm is by Bolt. I think he's got a real shot at becoming a successful sire long-term. The hip and shoulders that he puts on his foals is incredible.

Missouria is a granddaughter of Honest Lady by Bellamy Road. Her first foal was a nice Nyquist colt that I'm told is pointed toward Miami. She has a solid Kantharos yearling and is in foal to Frosted. She's out thrown herself so far and we thought that Bolt would pretty her foals up since she's a little plain. The family is deep and we think she could be a special mare for us if she can produce a solid runner.

Banded is the other mare going to Bolt. She has a Frosted yearling and is in foal to Practical Joke. The mare herself was stakes- placed and a half-sister to Race Day. She needs a little size bred into her and I think Bolt is perfect for that.

SWEET TALKIN (m, 10, Candy Ride {Arg}–Irene's Talkin, by At the Threshold), to be bred to Essential Quality

I'm sending one of the farm's best mares to Essential Quality. Sweet Talkin had a beautiful Tapit colt sell in Saratoga last year, making this foal a three-quarter to him. She continues to throw herself and we thought Essential Quality had all the qualities she was lacking. He was obviously very talented on the track but he has the looks to go with it. Very excited to see what she produces.

As a commercial breeder, it's not the easiest thing projecting which stallion is going to be popular in two or three years time. I'm really excited about my matings this year, though. I think all are attractive horses that we are breeding to and all were very talented on the track. I think something that gets overlooked when mating mares is how the two horses match up physically. People put a lot of stock in nicks, which is a useful tool to help mate them. But I find the physical part to be maybe even more important. Nicks change, physicals really don't. So I try to focus on starting with the physical and making the nick match it.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: garyking@thetdn.com.

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Notable Runners By US Sires in Japan: Jan. 22, 2022

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Chukyo. Also of note in Japan over the weekend is a debuting Deep Impact (Jpn) colt out of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar, while the weekend's action at group level features the progressive Potager (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G2 American Jockey Club S. His dam Ginger Punch (Awesome Again) was the Eclipse Award-winning older mare of 2007 and, like Princess of Sylmar, was purchased for seven figures at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale:

Saturday, January 22, 2022
1st-CKO, ¥9,900,000 ($87k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m
MODICA (AUS) (f, 2, American Pharoah–More Than Real, by More Than Ready) was spotting her Northern Hemisphere rivals a fair bit of maturity, but nevertheless turned in a bold debut effort, finishing two lengths' second as the betting favorite over this track and distance Jan. 10. The September-foaled bay, an A$260K purchase out of the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, is a half-sister to SW Miss Debutante (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and her GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf-winning dam is a full-sister to Miss Always Ready, whose son Structor (Palace Malice)–himself a GI BC Juvenile Turf hero–has been sold to Japan to stand stud. Modica is bred on the exact same cross as GSW and new Japanese stallion Four Wheel Drive as well as G1 February S. hero Cafe Pharoah. B-Kia Ora Stud Pty Ltd (NSW)

4th-CKO, ¥14,250,000 ($125k), Allowance, 3yo, 1400m
SEA VIXEN (f, 3, Into Mischief–Sly Warrior, by First Samurai), a $130K Keeneland September yearling turned $500K OBS March breezer, was placed twice from three starts on the grass to begin her career, but looked a new proposition altogether when racing to a seven-length victory on dirt debut at Tokyo Nov. 28. The bay returns to the main track for this, having finished down the field in a 1400-meter turf allowance at Hanshin on Christmas Day. Sky Vixen is out of a half-sister to SP Pull Dancer (Pulpit), the dam of the versatile Good Samaritan (Harlan's Holiday). This is the extended family of Bernstein, Wiseman's Ferry, et al. Breeze Easy acquired Sly Warrior for $50K in foal to Kitten's Joy at FTKNOV in 2017. B-Breeze Easy (KY)

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