Tag: Sheikh Hamdan

Kiaran McLaughlin Joins TDN’s ‘Let’s Talk’

   The TDN's 'Let's Talk'–a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal and professional issues often faced within the racing community.

   The latest edition features longtime trainer-turned-jockey agent Kiaran McLaughlin, who represents one of the nation's top riders, Luis Saez, winner of Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks aboard Secret Oath, trained by McLaughlin's former mentor D. Wayne Lukas.

Kiaran McLaughlin has pretty much seen and done it all in the sport of horse racing. From his earliest days as a hot walker and later as an assistant to a host of successful trainers, including Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, McLaughlin rounded out a 30-year career as a trainer–featuring a sparkling clientele roster including Dubai's ruling Maktoum family–to take the book of one of the nation's leading jockeys, Luis Saez, in 2020. In their first full year as a team, Saez rounded out the 2021 season in third with over $26 million in earnings.

“Wayne taught me about everything that I learned about horse training and horsemanship,” said McLaughlin about his former boss and mentor. “He was fabulous to be around every day. The feed program was great and then going out on my own, I tweaked it a little bit.. [Wayne] was a real pleasure and a great person to be around. So was Sheikh Hamdan. Those are two very important people in my life.”

According to McLaughlin, the experience gained while serving under Lukas's son and first lieutenant Jeff Lukas, who was tragically injured by subsequent Classic winner Tabasco Cat in 1993, in addition to the comradery developed with his peers in the Lukas camp, left an indelible mark on his career.

“We all looked after each other, or we tried to,” he recalled. “And we worked for Jeff Lukas, too. He is no longer with us. He was a great influence on all of us and was fabulous horse trainer. The work ethic is probably the most important thing. Wayne didn't ask you to do anything that he wasn't willing to do. Like picking [him] up at 2:15 in the morning before we fly to Churchill for the Derby. I had to do that once or twice. Wayne was a workaholic and we all worked together and tried to help each other.”

And while many would consider McLaughlin's life a charmed one, it hasn't always been glass-like seas for the 61-year-old, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998. Rarely seen without a smile on his face and a kind word for a peer, McLaughlin has taken the ups and downs in racing in stride.

“I've always been positive and I like to say I have M.S., but it doesn't have me,” he said. “I love what I'm doing, and that's why I didn't retire altogether. I love going to the track every day and seeing all my friends and having fun.”

Among the factors contributing to his retirement from training, McLaughlin faced another setback in 2020 when he was fined by New York Department of Labor for a 'violation of minimum wage requirements.”

“I felt like my feelings were hurt and that I got kicked in the stomach,” he admitted. “They fined me $300,000 and acted like I was stealing wages from my help, who were with me for 20 years. If I was stealing anything, they wouldn't have stayed with me for those that many years.”

However, despite the bumps he has encountered along the way, McLaughlin asserts that he isn't going anywhere any time soon.

“It's a passion and a lifestyle, and once it's in your blood, you want to do it-it's great,” he explained.

“I had some good kids working for me, and I wanted them to be trainers, especially now that I'm an agent. I need trainers to train the horses,” he added with a chuckle. “But it's not easy, that's for sure.”

The show is sponsored by 1/ST Racing, home to the May 21 GI Preakness S., and Healthnetics.

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Shadwell Farm to Sell Two Kentucky Divisions

Shadwell Farm, which has been undergoing a business review of operations in the U.S., as well as in Ireland and the UK, since its founder, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, died last March, will sell two farms in Central Kentucky. The properties are the 839-acre Shadayid Stud, located on both sides of Leestown Road, and the 525-acre Erhaab Stud, located on Frankfort/Georgetown Road. Both farms feature fields, paddocks, barns, homes, and more. Shadayid Stud is being offered for $17.75 million, while Erhaab Stud is listed for $12 million.

A release about the “auxiliary farms” and restructuring process said, in part: “Both of these farms were meticulously developed by us, are in pristine condition, and have been impeccably maintained. These farms are separate from the original main division where we will continue to raise Thoroughbreds in the finest tradition.”

Justice Real Estate will represent Shadwell as broker.

The post Shadwell Farm to Sell Two Kentucky Divisions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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TDN’s Most Popular Stories of 2021

With 2021 now behind us–thankfully, some might say–it's time to look back at the TDN stories that were the mostly widely read during the year. Unfortunately, it's a list largely void of feel-good stories. That's not surprising during what was another tumultuous year for the sport, from the sad saga of Medina Spirit (Protonico) to the sentencing of drug cheat Jorge Navarro to five years in prison to the 11th-hour surprise that was the United States Anti-Doping Agency announcing that it would not be part of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act going forward. It was also a year in which the sport lost some giants, B. Wayne Hughes, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid al Maktoum, Rick Porter, Khalid Abdullah, to name a few.

Here are the 10 most widely read stories of 2021:

  1. Medina Spirit Dies of an Apparent Heart Attack

The news was stunning and tragic. After finishing up a Dec. 6 workout at Santa Anita, Medina Spirit collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack. It was the final chapter in a story that began with an overachiever once sold for $1,000 winning the GI Kentucky Derby and continued with his drug positive in the Derby and then his death.

“Medina Spirit was a great champion, a member of our family who was loved by all and we are deeply mourning his loss,” trainer Bob Baffert said in a statement. “I will always cherish the proud and personal memories of Medina Spirit and his tremendous spirit.”

The story had more than twice as many readers as any other story that ran in the TDN during the year.

  1. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid al Maktoum Dies

In March, His Highness Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum passed away at the age of 75. Operating a racing and breeding empire under the Shadwell banner that tasted success all over the world, he raced 19 European Classic winners. In the U.S., Shadwell won such notable races as the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and the GI Belmont S. and was a two-time winner of the GI Whitney H.

  1. Lopez After Fight with Ortiz: I Don't Want Any Trouble Going Forward

There's nothing like a good old-fashioned donnybrook to get the readers' attention. Irad Ortiz, Jr. didn't like Paco Lopez's tactics during a late February race at Gulfstream and let him know it afterward when he started punching his rival outside the jockey's room. Lopez did not retaliate and told the TDN after it was over that he wanted to put the incident behind him.

  1. Rispoli Not Allowed to Fly to Saudi Arabia for Cup

COVID-19 regulations proved to be a headache during the early part of the year and kept Umberto Rispoli and John Velazquez from being able to travel to Saudi Arabia to ride in the Saudi Cup.

  1. Guillot Horse with Racist Name Wins at Aqueduct, Sparks Outrage

Trainer Eric Guillot retired from racing in January but he didn't exactly go quietly. The last horse he ran was a horse he named Grape Soda (Uncle Mo), a racist stereotype directed at African Americans. On Twitter, Guillot admitted the horse was named in “honor of a TVG analyst,” presumably Ken Rudulph. The horse was claimed out of the race by owner Larry Roman, who promptly changed his named to Respect For All.

  1. Rick Porter Passes Away

Few owners in the sport were more respected and more successful than Rick Porter. Porter, who campaigned three Eclipse Award winners, passed away in June at 80 after a long bout with cancer.

“We lost a gem in horse racing,” said trainer Larry Jones.

  1. Writers Room Tackles Medina Spirit News, Baffert, Ortiz Suspension

With the Medina Spirit death and the 30-day suspension handed to Irad Ortiz, Jr. by the Aqueduct stewards for careless riding, there was plenty to talk about on the Dec. 8 TDN Writers' Room podcast. A story previewing the podcast proved to be among the most popular of the year.

  1. Derby Winner Aiming for New World Record

Emma Berry tells the story of 2013 GI Epsom Derby winner Ruler Of The World (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) arriving in Italy at the Cipriani family's Allevamenti della Berardenga

  1. Irad Ortiz, Jr Suspended for 30 Days

In what was supposed to be an ordinary race in December at Aqueduct, Irad Ortiz, Jr., aboard Gran Casique (Algorithms), inexplicably came over about eight paths while making his way toward the rail on the backstretch and cut over on and dropped apprentice Omar Hernandez Moreno. The Equibase chart caller wrote that “Gran Casique angled in with reckless abandon.” Throughout the year, many had been calling out Ortiz Jr. for what they said were his rough riding tactics. At least on this one occasion, the stewards agreed, setting him down for a month.

  1. Parx Backstretch Raid Yields Significant Contraband

There was plenty of controversy in 2021, including a backstretch raid at Parx that yielded, according to Pennsylvania Director of Thoroughbred Horse Racing Tom Chuckas, a “significant amount of contraband.” A few days later, trainer Richard Vega was “summarily suspended” by the stewards after hypodermic needles, syringes and injectable substances were found in his tack room.

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Derby Hero Erhaab Dies at 30

Shadwell's Erhaab (Chief's Crown–Histoire {Fr}, by Riverman), who won the G1 Derby at Epsom in 1994, died peacefully this week at Batsford Stud. The 30-year-old, the oldest surviving winner of the Blue Riband, had spent the past decade at the Gloucestershire stud.

Bred by Sheikh Hamdan's operation in Kentucky, the half-brother to Group 2 winner Oumaldaaya (Nureyev) and stakes winner Hispanolia (Fr) (Kris {GB}) was trained by John Dunlop. In five starts as a juvenile, the dark bay won twice and was also third in the G3 Horris Hill S. at Newbury. He made his sophomore bow with a second in the Listed Feilden S. in April. Successful in the G2 Dante S. next out, he ran out a 1 1/4-length victor in the Derby-both of those wins were under Willie Carson. His final placing was a third in the G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown

A damaged suspensory ligament brought about his retirement later that summer with a record of 11-4-2-2 and $905,450 in prizemoney. He stood in Japan, Kentucky, and Shadwell's Beech House Stud, and was later a jumps stallion at Wood Farm Stud and Batsford Stud. As a stallion, he sired a quartet of listed-placed progeny in England and Japan, while his daughters have produced three black-type winners in Japan.

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