Tag: Stephen Foster

Tom’s d’Etat to WinStar Farm

Leading GI Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike–Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s Causeway), hero of the 2019 GI Clark S. and an impressive last out winner of the GII Stephen Foster S. with a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure, will stand at WinStar Farm upon the conclusion of his racing career.

Campaigned by Gayle Benson’s G M B Racing and trainer Al Stall, Jr., he has compiled a record of 18-11-2-1 and earnings of $1,627,272. Tom’s d’Etat is currently on a four-race winning streak and has his sights set on the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga for his next target.

“I have been honored to be able to train two great horses in [2010 Champion Older Horse and leading stallion] Blame and Tom’s d’Etat,” said Stall. “[Tom’s d’Etat] has been brilliant winning four in a row, and I can’t wait to lead him back over there in the Whitney.”

Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock LLC., the 7-year-old brought $330,000 as a KEESEP yearling. He is produced by the stakes-winning and multiple stakes-placed Giant’s Causeway mare Julia Tuttle, who is out of Candy Cane (Arg), a full sister to GI Pacific Classic winner and leading sire Candy Ride (Arg).

“When my late husband, Tom, decided in 2014 that we were going to enter the horse racing business, the first place we came to was WinStar Farm to see their operation,” said Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. “G M B Racing is extremely excited that our best horse, Tom’s d’Etat, will begin his stud career with Kenny Troutt and his entire team at WinStar. We look forward to watching the second half of his career be just as successful as his first, and we know he will get that opportunity at WinStar. I am also eager to bring many of our mares from Benson Farm to breed to him in the coming years.”

Elliott Walden, WinStar’s president, CEO, and racing manager, added, “Tom’s d’Etat has proven over the last two years to be of the highest quality. Eleven of his last 12 Thoro-Graph figures are negative numbers. He has nine triple-digit Beyers and eight in a row. He was .02 off the track record in his last start at historic Churchill Downs, and he won two of the best races in the country at 1 1/8 miles in the Stephen Foster and the Clark.

“Any way you slice it, he is top class,” Walden continued. “He is the last great son of Smart Strike from the family of Candy Ride. We walked Speightstown into the stallion barn at age seven and Distorted Humor at age six. Hopefully, he will be another story we can tell how he defied the odds like them.”

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Midnight Bisou in the Classic? Why Not?

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley

There was no word Sunday from the camp of Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) regarding where their mare would run next and what the long-term goals are for the season. But we know this much: Midnight Bisou is outstanding, her connections took on males once, in the Saudi Cup, and the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic is a lot bigger deal than the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Does that add up to her starting in the Classic? Fans of this sport can only hope that it does.

Midnight Bisou destroyed her competition in last Saturday’s GII Fleur de Lis S. at Churchill Downs, which was no easy assignment. She hadn’t raced since the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup and was facing at least one horse who, on paper, looked like she might beat her. Serengeti Empress (Alternation) is at her very best when able to get loose on the lead and, as expected, that’s the trip she got Saturday. But no filly was going to beat Midnight Bisou on this day. With Mike Smith never asking for her best, the champion won by 8 1/4 lengths.

One race later, perhaps the best older male in training, Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), was also an impressive winner, cruising to a 4 1/4-length win in the GII Stephen Foster S. He completed the mile and an eighth in 1:47.30 and got a 109 Beyer figure. Midnight Bisou ran the same distance in 1:48.99 and her Beyer number was a 93.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean he is the better horse or had the better day. For Midnight Bisou to have run as fast as Tom’s d’Etat, she would have to have won by about 16 1/2 lengths. With the race wrapped up when she made her ground-gobbling move on the far turn, there was no reason for Smith to ask for anything extra in the stretch.

Rather than worrying about who was better, maybe the right thing to do is to concede that both Midnight Bisou and Tom’s d’Etat were very good and that there is no fair way to compare their races.

Midnight Bisou will be stabled at Saratoga. A start in the Aug. 1 GI Personal Ensign S. makes the most sense for her. But the bigger question is where will she run in the Breeders’ Cup? The safe thing to do would be to run in the Distaff. The more adventurous, potentially more rewarding spot is the Classic. It’s worth $7 million. The Distaff goes for $2 million. A filly that wins the Classic becomes an immortal. A filly that wins the Distaff may find it hard to stand out among the other 33 fillies or mares who have won the race. Unless Tiz the Law (Constitution) wins the Triple Crown, there will likely be a handful of Horse of the Year candidates racing on the Breeders’ Cup card. A win by Midnight Bisou in the Classic might just put her over the top, giving her the Horse of the Year title she lost out on in 2019.

Here’s another thing to consider: if Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Gamine (Into Mischief) run up to expectations throughout the year, might the Distaff be a tougher assignment than the Classic?

Whenever a top filly faces the boys, it turns a race into an event. It’s good for the sport and something we don’t see nearly enough. Bob Baffert has said there is an outside chance that Gamine goes in a traditional Triple Crown race. Let’s hope that she does. Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) was very impressive winning the GI Just a Game S. Saturday at Belmont. Afterward, trainer Chad Brown said races against males could be on her schedule. That’s terrific news.

Jeff Bloom of Bloom Racing has plenty of time to make up his mind. But he shows every sign of being someone who is not afraid to aim high. He brought Midnight Bisou back when she was five and sent her halfway around the globe to compete against males in the Saudi Cup. My guess is she will run in the Classic. It would be great if I am right.

Good News and Bad News on Canterbury Pick 5

When Canterbury Park announced that it was going to offer a Pick 5 with a 10% takeout at this meet, no one knew what to expect or how horseplayers would react. The hope was that by offering the lowest takeout bet in the sport, Canterbury would lure gamblers that otherwise wouldn’t have paid any attention to their simulcast.

Seven racing days into the meet, there’s little doubt that customers will react to the pricing of bets. With a June 18 card canceled after three races, there have been seven days at the meet in which a Pick 5 was offered and the average handle on the bet is $95,261. That may not seem like a lot, but it is for a B-level track racing only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

It’s not easy comparing that to past years, as the Pick 5 between 2017 and 2019 was a jackpot style bet. In 2016, the total pool was usually less than $10,000.

Canterbury’s experiment has been a success, but it was not a good sign that the three lowest Pick 5 pools of the meet all occurred last week, when the average pool fell to $78,825. That probably means there were a lot of curiosity seekers the first week and some have moved on.

Canterbury may not have the class and quality of Santa Anita, Belmont and Gulfstream, but gamblers need to support this bet. Why shouldn’t it handle $300,000 or $400,000 a day? We spend a lot of time complaining about how high the takeout is. The best way to get the industry to change is to bet more on the lower takeout bets like Canterbury’s Pick 5 and less on the ones that gouge you at 20% or more.

Firenze Fire Back In Winner’s Circle for Breen

Firenze Fire (Poseidon’s Warrior) threw in a dud in the June 6 GI Carter H., finishing fourth. That it was his first start for Kelly Breen after racing for Jason Servis was obviously notable. In March, Servis was indicted and charged with using performance-enhancing drugs on his horses. It was easy to conclude that Firenze Fire couldn’t do as well for Breen as he did for Servis because he would be running without performance-enhancers for his new barn.

The story took another twist Saturday in the GII True North S. at Belmont. The old Firenze Fire was back. The 11-10 favorite, he won by 1 1/2 lengths.

It’s hard to say why he ran so much better in the True North than he did in the Carter. But what is clear is that the majority of horses that had been trained by Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro that have run back have fared better than most expected. That doesn’t mean that Servis and Navarro weren’t doping their horses. But why are these horses running so well for “clean” programs? That’s anyone’s guess.

A Toast to Dean Martini

For no other reason than his name is so clever, it would be fun to see GIII Ohio Derby winner Dean Martini (Cairo Prince) win a few more big races. For now, though, the connections should enjoy a big win and pat themselves on the back for reading the tea leaves when it comes to the 3-year-old races.

Tom Amoss claimed Dean Martini for $50,000 out of a May 17 maiden claimer at Churchill. He came back to finish second in a June 12 allowance at Churchill. Not many trainers would have come back in 16 days, but Amoss realized the $500,000 Ohio Derby purse was there for the taking. Against the level of competition he faced, Dean Martini didn’t even need to improve to win.

In this strangest of years, we went from having too few races for 3-year-olds to having too many. The second tier 3-year-old races all figure to come up weak and may be won by more Dean Martinis of the world.

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Weekend Lineup: Breeders’ Cup Berths Up For Grabs In Stephen Foster, Fleur De Lis

The Grade 2 Stephen Foster is the headliner of a stakes quartet on Saturday's 11-race program at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., while the Grade 1 Just a Game, featuring the seasonal bow of champion Uni (GB), is one of four graded stakes on the Belmont Park lineup in Elmont, N.Y.

The Stephen Foster will be broadcast on NBC as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. The one-hour broadcast, which will begin at 5 p.m. ET, also will include the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis. The winner of the Stephen Foster will get an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic while the winner of the Fleur de Lis will receive a berth to the Distaff.

America's Day at the Races, produced by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) in partnership with FOX Sports, will air through Sunday on FS1, FS2 and MSG+. Also featured on Saturday's broadcast is the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown Racecourse for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles, which has been added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby series. The top-four finishers will receive points worth 20-8-4-2 for entry to the field for the Kentucky Derby, rescheduled for September 5 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday June 27 (all times Eastern)

4:22 p.m.—$500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on FS1

Reigning 2-year-old champion male Storm the Court seeks his first victory since taking the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile when he starts in the Ohio Derby against 14 challengers. Trained by Peter Eurton, Storm the Court is winless in three starts this season including his most recent run, a sixth-place effort in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. The son of Court Vision captured the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November at Santa Anita Park en route to earning the Eclipse Award for divisional honors.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/TDN062720USA8-EQB.html

4:32 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont Park on FS1

Blue Devil Racing Stable's Grade 1-winner Come Dancing will look to rebound after a rare off-the-board performance last out when she headlines Saturday's Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap. Trained by Carlos Martin, Come Dancing finished 12th in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom going 1 1/16-miles at Oaklawn Park.The daughter of Malibu Moon now returns to sprinting, where she excelled in 2019, highlighted by a dramatic come-from-behind win in the Grade 1 Ballerina in August at Saratoga Race Course.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA7-EQB.html

4:42 p.m.—$175,000 Grade 2 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

Malakeh, a 5-year-old daughter of Harbour Watch (IRE), goes after her third straight score in Saturday's Nassau Stakes. Bred by Gestut Gorlsdorf, the bay mare will make her first start in Canada when she goes postward in the one-mile E.P. Taylor Turf Course engagement that has drawn seven hopefuls. After a polished performance to close the curtain on her 2019 campaign last August at Saratoga, Malakeh opened up her current season with another win, a gutsy neck score over firm going at Churchill Downs on May 22.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO062720CAN8-EQB.html

4:43 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs on FS1

Stonestreet Stables' eye-popping 8 ¾-length maiden winner Cazadero leads a field of seven promising 2-year-olds in search of graded stakes glory in Saturday's 119th running of the Bashford Manor. Cazadero, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, dazzled in his debut on May 29 at Churchill Downs under Ricardo Santana Jr. Cazadero, a homebred son of Street Sense, sported an impressive work tab entering his maiden race which included a swift half-mile move in :46.40 from the gate at Keeneland. Since his debut, Cazadero has been stabled with Asmussen's string at Churchill Downs.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA8-EQB.html

5:04 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 2 New York Stakes at Belmont Park on FS1

Trainer Graham Motion will saddle a pair of graded stakes winners as part of a seven-horse field of older fillies and mares in the New York Stakes going 1 ¼ miles on Belmont Park's inner turf. Among Motion's trainees is Alex G. Campbell Jr.'s Mean Mary, who has started her 4-year-old campaign with consecutive graded stakes wins in front-running fashion. The Kentucky homebred went gate-to-wire to win the 1 ½-mile Grade 3 La Prevoyante in January over the Gulfstream Park turf and followed with another winning effort on the course by leading a 12-horse field through every point of call in the Grade 3 Orchid on March 28.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA8-EQB.html

5:15 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs on NBC

Serengeti Empress, winner of the 2019 Kentucky Oaks, is ready for her showdown versus champion Midnight Bisou, the No. 1-ranked horse in the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, in the Fleur de Lis – a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Distaff Division” race. The speedy Serengeti Empress led every step of the way in last year's Kentucky Oaks and was a convincing 6 ¼-length winner of the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park March 14. Midnight Bisou, trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Steve Asmussen, has been nothing short of spectacular throughout her 20-race career. The now 5-year-old mare won seven straight graded stakes last year en route to earning the Eclipse Award for champion older dirt female and began her 2020 campaign by running second against males in the $20 million Saudi Cup on February 29.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA9-EQB.html

5:36 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 True North Stakes at Belmont Park on FS1

Robert Baron and WinStar Farm's Grade 1-winner Promises Fulfilled returns off a more than eight month layoff to headline the True North Stakes going 6 ½-furlongs. Promises Fulfilled, who will ship up to New York from Kentucky, has trained forwardly at Churchill Downs, including a bullet five-eighths breeze in 59 seconds flat on June 13 and a similarly speedy effort in 59.20 Saturday on the Churchill Downs main track. He sizzled to a front-running score in the 2018 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga Race Course and boasts a record of 17-7-0-3 with purse earnings of $1,455,530.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA9-EQB.html

5:47 p.m.—$500,000 Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs on NBC

G M B Racing's Grade 1-winner Tom's d'Etat will take on Allied Racing Stable's multiple-graded stakes winner By My Standards and recent Blame Stakes hero Owendale in Saturday's 39th running of the $500,000 Stephen Foster – the centerpiece of the penultimate day of Churchill Downs' 27-day Spring Meet. Tom's d'Etat has won four of his last five starts including a 3 ¼-length score in last year's Grade 1 Clark Handicap. The now 7-year-old son of Smart Strike enters Saturday's Stephen Foster following a hard-fought victory in the April 11 Oaklawn Mile. Another top older horse that entered the Stephen Foster is last year's Grade 2 Louisiana Derby hero By My Standards. Trained by Bret Calhoun, By My Standards returned as a 4-year-old in February at Fair Grounds with a convincing three-length victory in the Grade 3 New Orleans and he enters the Stephen Foster following a 1 ¾-length win in last month's Grade 2 Oaklawn Stakes.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA10-EQB.html

6:08 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes at Belmont Park on FS1

Trainer Chad Brown will bring a strong hand of cards to the table when he saddles turf champion Uni, Grade 1-winner Newspaperofrecord (IRE), and two-time graded stakes winner Regal Glory in pursuit of a fourth consecutive win in the 27th running of Saturday's Grade 1 Just a Game over the Widener turf course. Uni, the reigning champion turf female, will make her 2020 debut in the Just a Game, having not raced since taking last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita Park, where she became the sixth female to score a win in the race. Newspaperofrecord arrives at the Just a Game off a wire-to-wire victory in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 6 over the Widener turf, where she recorded swift fractions but still had enough left in the tank to draw off to a four-length victory.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA10-EQB.html

6:20 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs on FS1

Godolphin's two-time stakes-winning filly Micheline will be in search of her first graded stakes victory in Saturday's 51st running of the Regret Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile turf event for 3-year-old fillies. Micheline, trained by Mike Stidham and ridden by Joe Bravo, scored a 2 ¼-length victory in last month's $75,000 Honey Ryder Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old filly by Bernardini broke her maiden in her second-career start last year in the $106,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA11-EQB.html

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Cox Confident Owendale Will Take ‘Next Step Forward’ In Stephen Foster

Rupp Racing's multiple Grade III winner Owendale (by leading sire Into Mischief) will attempt to take a step forward to become one of the top older horses in the country in Saturday's $500,000 Stephen Foster (GII) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

“He's only had one start this year (in the $100,000 Blame) but his victory was visually very impressive for us,” trainer Brad Cox said. “It's only one race but we're hoping he keeps showing that positive progression from a 3-year-old to an older 4-year-old. The Blame was a one-turn race, which is not his preferred distance and a distance he hasn't run at in several starts. The 1 1/8-mile distance in the Stephen Foster should definitely suit him better and we're confident he can take that next step forward to becoming one of the top handicap horses in the country.”

Saturday's Stephen Foster is the marquee race of the 2020 Spring Meet at Churchill Downs with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

The Stephen Foster has had a strong influence on the Breeders' Cup Classic and Horse of the Year honors. Four horses used victories in the Stephen Foster as part of their résumés in Horse of the Year campaigns: Black Tie Affair (1991), Saint Liam (2005), Curlin (2008) and Gun Runner (2017). In addition, two runner-ups were crowned Horse of the Year: Mineshaft (2003) and Wise Dan (2012). Also, Awesome Again (1998) and Blame (2010) completed same-year Foster-Classic doubles. Fort Larned won the Classic in 2012, and won the Foster the following year prior to a fourth-place run in his bid for a second Classic win.

Owendale was made the 4-1 third choice on the morning line for Saturday's Stephen Foster and his regular pilot Florent Geroux will be in the irons. The Stephen Foster is carded as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:47 p.m.

The complete field for the Stephen Foster (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Fearless (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 12-1); Pirate's Punch (Mike Smith, Grant Forster, 15-1); Alkhaatam (Declan Cannon, Danny Peitz, 30-1); Multiplier(Tyler Gaffalione, Peter Miller, 10-1); Tom's d'Etat (Miguel Mena, Al Stall Jr., even-money); By My Standards (Gabriel Saez, Calhoun, 5-2); Silver Dust (Beschizza, Calhoun, 10-1); and Owendale (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 4-1).

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