Tag: Steve Asmussen

Pauline’s Pearl Prevails in La Troienne

Well-bred Pauline's Pearl, eighth in last year's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, reached the highest level Friday while running down 2020 Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil. Off as the second choice having last finished runner-up in Oaklawn's Mar. 12 GII Azeri S.–one spot ahead of Shedaresthedevil and behind 2021 champion female sprinter Ce Ce (Elusive Quality)–the grey was briefly hung wide into the first turn before working her way inward slightly in midpack as Shedaresthedevil showed the way. She mounted a three-wide challenge after six furlongs in 1:11.78, and continued to grind away at the leader's advantage as longshot Ava's Grace boxed on in between. Pauline's Pearl seemed to hit another gear past the eighth pole, and Shedaresthedevil could no longer hold her off, with the former notching a snug decision.

“[Trainer Steve Asmussen] told me to watch her at the gate; that she could break slow. But she came out fine and I got a good position,” said winning pilot Joel Rosario. “I got pushed out a bit on the turn [for home], but once we straightened out she leveled off. She ran well through the stretch.”

A winner of last April's GIII Honeybee S. over Ava's Grace, Pauline's Pearl was freshened after the Oaks ahead of a third in the GIII Iowa Oaks and seconds in both the GIII Charles Town Oaks and GIII Remington Park Oaks. She finished off her sophomore season with a score in the Nov. 21 Zia Park Oaks–good for a career top Beyer Speed Figure of 96–and resurfaced a convincing winner of the GIII Houston Ladies Classic S. Jan. 20 before returning to Hot Springs for the Azeri.

“So many things go into it,” said Hall of Famer Asmussen, who was winning his second La Troienne. “She was a nice filly early that continuously competed and got better. She came back a [better] 4-year-old. All four races this year have been tremendous. It is so satisfying for her to come back and get her first Grade I on Oaks Day. She did her best last year in the Oaks. You can see the improvement one year has made in her.”

This was the 100th graded stakes win for a horse bred by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet, whose recent products also include last year's Kentucky Oaks heroine Malathaat (Curlin).

Friday, Churchill Downs
LA TROIENNE S. PRESENTED BY SIGNIFY HEALTH-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:42.46, ft.
1–PAULINE'S PEARL, 123, f, 4, by Tapit
        1st Dam: Hot Dixie Chick (GISW, $343,252), by Dixie Union
        2nd Dam: Above Perfection, by In Excess (Ire)
        3rd Dam: Something Perfect, by Somethingfabulous
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $455,700. Lifetime Record: 13-5-4-2, $1,494,200. *1/2 to Union Jackson (Curlin), MSW & GSP, $273,874. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Shedaresthedevil, 123, m, 5, by Daredevil
        1st Dam: Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats
        2nd Dam: Andria's Forest, by Forestry
        3rd Dam: Andriana B., by Far North
($100,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $20,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP; $280,000 2yo '19 KEENOV; $5,000,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC, Qatar Racing Limited and Whisper Hill Farm, LLC; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $147,000.
3–Ava's Grace, 123, f, 4, by Laoban
        1st Dam: Cover Girl Elle, by Out of Place
        2nd Dam: Cover, by A.P. Indy
        3rd Dam: Gild, by Mr. Prospector
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Cypress Creek Equine; B-Southern Equine Stables, LLC (KY); T-Robertino Diodoro. $73,500.
Margins: HF, 2 3/4, 1. Odds: 1.90, 0.80, 12.70.
Also Ran: Battle Bling, She's All Wolfe, Jilted Bride, Temper Time.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Pauline's Pearl is the 29th Grade I winner for her super sire, who was also responsible for 2014 Asmussen-trained Oaks heroine Untapable. Broodmare sire Dixie Union has sired the dams of seven North American highest-level winners (and two more in South America), including 2018 La Troienne victress Salty (Quality Road).

Precocious dam Hot Dixie Chick–a half to 2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister)–annexed the 2009 GI Spinaway S., but was third at 3-5 in the following year's GIII Eight Belles S. on this same card. Her current 3-year-old Marsalis (Curlin) garnered 'TDN Rising Star'-dom in March. Hot Dixie Chick aborted to Good Magic after her subsequent mating, but produced a Constitution colt last season. She was bred to both Tapit and Quality Road for 2022.

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Asmussen Front and ‘Center’ with Potential Derby Favorite

LOUISVILLE, KY –  As the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs, no one has won more races beneath the Twin Spires than Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Just not on the first Saturday in May.

Heading into GI Kentucky Derby 148 with 7-2 morning-line second choice Epicenter (Not This Time), as expected, Asmussen's well-documented 23-0-2-2 record in the 'Run for the Roses' has been a major topic of discussion.

“I don't know if it's healthy to want anything that much,” Asmussen said. “I grew up in horseracing. We've been unbelievably blessed with some of the greatest horses of all time, yet the Derby has eluded us. Going into this year, right now, I don't want to trade places with anybody. I love our chances.”

This may arguably be Asmussen's best shot so far.

Ninth at 43-1 with his first Kentucky Derby starter Fifty Stars in 2001, the 56-year-old has never saddled the favorite. Believe it or not, neither future superstar Curlin or Gun Runner was the public's choice in the Derby and only three of his starters have gone off at single digits.

Taking a look back, Asmussen's confidence was at its highest approaching the 2007 renewal, he said.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought Curlin could lose,” Asmussen said. “I did not. You could not get any more confident than that horse made you feel when you ran him. The walk back after he got beat was… Whew.  Long. Like going across the Sahara Desert.”

Unraced at two, making just his fourth lifetime start and backed as the narrowest of second choices at 5-1 off a trio of jaw-dropping victories, the mighty Curlin had to settle for a well-beaten third behind slightly favored Street Sense after some early trouble passing the crowd of 156,635 for the first time.

“Two weeks later, he proved it [by winning the GI Preakness S.],” Asmussen said of the two-time Horse of the Year and perennial leading sire. “Sometimes, it just isn't meant to be. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was good enough. But it didn't happen.”

Carrying the same maroon-and-white silks of Winchell Thoroughbreds as Epicenter, the brilliant Gun Runner filled the third slot at 10-1 behind Nyquist after racing on a hot pace in the 2016 Kentucky Derby. The chestnut, of course, brought his game to an elite level as an older horse, led by wins in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. The 2017 Horse of the Year has excelled in his next career as well, setting a new record for progeny earnings as a first-crop sire last year.

“For him going into the breeding shed, and the success he's continuing, it's unbelievable to be a part of that,” Asmussen said.

Nehro and Lookin At Lee provided Asmussen with his two best placings in the Kentucky Derby so far, finishing second in 2011 and 2017, respectively.

Nehro, looking every bit a winner while looming boldly on the pacesetting Shackleford turning for home at a well-backed 8-1, couldn't withstand a devastating stretch run from Animal Kingdom. The rail-drawn Lookin At Lee enjoyed a perfect, ground-saving trip from far back and outran his 33-1 odds behind Always Dreaming.

“The visuals of those moments were goosebump exciting,” Asmussen said.

Derby also-rans like GI Belmont S. winner Creator (13th in 2016), GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. winner Max Player (fifth in 2020) and the very popular, ill-fated GI Preakness S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. runner-up Midnight Bourbon (promoted to fifth via disqualification in 2021) enjoyed their share of top-level success afterward.

Albeit while racing for different connections, Asmussen Derby alumni also includes: GI Forego S. winner Pyro (eighth at 5-1 in 2008) and GI Santa Anita H. winner Combatant (18th in 2018), respectively.

“That's extremely important,” Asmussen said of that aforementioned group's subsequent accomplishments. “Extremely proud of that.”

A Deserving Choice…

Regardless of Mike Battaglia's much-discussed morning-line or where Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale's expected $3 to $4 million wager lands, Epicenter is every bit worthy of favoritism.

In key possession of a natural, high-cruising speed–more important than ever in the points system era as detailed in this space ahead of the 2018 Derby–Epicenter's resume is topped by a gate-to-wire success in a very live renewal of the GII Risen Star S. and a visually impressive, stalk-and-pounce victory with a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure in the GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby.

Slight Kentucky Derby morning-line favorite and the very talented GI Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Zandon (Upstart) was back in third while making his sophomore debut in the Risen Star following an eventful journey.

A maiden winner at Churchill Downs at two, Epicenter has gradually been stretched in distance from seven furlongs on debut last September all the way to 1 3/16 miles in his final Derby prep in late March. His speed figures have improved with each and every one of his six career starts as well.

Jockey Joel Rosario, aboard 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, has the call.

“I love where he's at–mentally and physically–and how he's getting over the racetrack,” Asmussen said. “He's had a lovely progression with a gradual stretch out. He's got nice gate speed and plenty of pace. In the Louisiana Derby, he showed that he can be more tractable and still have that burst going 1 3/16 miles. We're very fortunate to be associated with him. We have the one we want for running in the 2022 Derby.”

Bred in Kentucky by Westwind Farms, Epicenter brought $260,000 from the Winchell family on day six of the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling sale. Hailing from the second crop of leading young sire Not This Time, Epicenter is out of the stakes-winning and graded-stakes placed Candy Ride (Arg) mare Silent Candy.

It promises to be a huge weekend for Asmussen and owner Ron Winchell at Churchill Downs. North America's all-time winningest trainer will also be shooting for his third GI Kentucky Oaks win for the Winchells with unbeaten champion Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) on Friday.

“There's a lot of focus on the 0-for-23 and my pursuit of the Derby, but I've heard Ron [Winchell] in interviews recalling conversations that he had with his father [the late Verne Winchell] about his own pursuit of winning the Derby,” Asmussen said. “It's very meaningful. The association between the Winchells and Asmussens was started long before me and Ron.”

Asmussen concluded with a laugh, “We got to listen to conversations, but make no decisions.”

At 6:57 p.m. Saturday, Asmussen and Winchell will be more than happy to let Epicenter do all the talking.

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Wednesday’s Derby Report: Crown Pride & Taiba Works Highlight Busy Morning

LOUISVILLE, KY – Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}) had Wednesday morning's 'Dawn at the Downs' crowd buzzing just three days out from the GI Kentucky Derby.

With the G2 UAE Derby winner continuing to warm up with his popular dressage-like jogging routine in the chute on a very cool and overcast morning, Todd Pletcher's troops of Charge It (Tapit), Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) were the first to hit the track for the special Derby/Oaks training period at 7:30 a.m.

Owner Jerry Crawford stood alongside the two-time Derby winning Hall of Fame trainer on the backstretch while closely monitoring Donegal Racing and Repole Stable's aforementioned GII Wood Memorial S. winner.

With jockey Christophe Lemaire's yellow helmet cap fittingly matching Crown Pride's Kentucky Derby saddle towel, the dark bay blitzed through a visually impressive half-mile bullet breeze in :46.60. Under a nice hold approaching the quarter pole with ears flicking back and forth, Crown Pride switched leads right on cue in the stretch and powered on through the wire as he continues to impress in his training.

The unbeaten Taiba (Gun Runner), credited with just a lone six-furlong breeze breeze since his sensational GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby win, blew out three furlongs beneath Joel Rosario in :38.40. The chestnut followed that same blueprint before his Santa Anita Derby win. Tim Yakteen's former late and legendary boss Charlie Whittingham is certainly smiling somewhere. One of the more efficient movers you'll see, Taiba brought $1.7 million as a Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale 2-year-old in training.

The top two choices on Mike Battaglia's Kentucky Derby morning-line, meanwhile, were also out stretching their legs during this action-packed 15-minute time slot. Slightly favored Zandon (Upstart) continues to stride out beautifully during his preparations beneath the Twin Spires for Chad Brown. Typically out for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen during the pre-dawn hours, Epicenter (Not This Time) looked the part as well while training much later than usual amidst the chaos.

With his neck bowed and sporting lots of blue and yellow equipment, no one stood out more than the stunning gray White Abarrio (Race Day).

The blaze-faced Zozos (Munnings) also caught the eye while galloping a powerful 1 1/2 miles along with his Brad Cox-trained stablemates Cyberknife (Gun Runner) and Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile).

Despite temperatures hovering in the 50s, Smile Happy (Runhappy) was a bit lathered on his neck during his routine gallop.

Back at the barn and still with cotton balls in his ears, Epicenter kept his cool before a big crowd of admiring media and fans while getting cleaned up as training hours began to wind down.

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Zandon Tabbed as 3-1 Kentucky Derby ML Favorite from Post 10

LOUISVILLE, KY – With all of the morning buzz surrounding Zandon (Upstart) since his dramatic come-from-behind victory in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S., Mike Battaglia installed the handsome dark bay as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby after drawing right in the middle in post 10.

The Jeff Drown colorbearer, a $170,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase, has posted a pair of much-discussed breezes for Chad Brown following his breakthrough win at Keeneland, including a visually impressive five-furlong move in 1:00.40 (7/43) at Churchill Downs Apr. 29. Flavien Prat rides.

“Perfect,” Brown said of the draw. “We're ready to go.”

Epicenter (Not this Time), drawn on the inside in post three, was made the second choice at 7-2. The $260,000 KEESEP graduate enters off impressive victories for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen in the GII Risen Star S. and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. Asmussen has failed to find the mark with 23 previous starters in the Run for the Roses.

“Like any race, you want to get away nicely from the gate and go from there,” Asmussen said. “How long he stands in there, how long it takes to load, 150,000 people staring at him–it's a lot. [Jockey] Joel [Rosario] is very confident in rhythm of the horse. So, if he is away cleanly Joel will let him be who he is.”

The top two choices have met once before. Zandon was back in third after a slow start and wide trip while making his first start of the season in Epicenter's front-running Risen Star score.

Louisville native Brad Cox, promoted to first with Mandaloun (Into Mischief) following the well-documented medication disqualification of the ill-fated Medina Spirit (Protonico) in last year's Derby and subsequent suspension of Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, will look to put them back to back. He has entered the trio of Cyberknife (Gun Runner) (post 16), Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) (post 18) and 'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) (post 19).

“I think with the Derby starting at the head of the stretch, and a quarter of a mile to the first turn, they'll be able to get into position,” Cox said.

Former Baffert runners, unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Taiba (Gun Runner) (post 12) and 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker) (post six), punched their tickets to Louisville for trainer Tim Yakteen following a one-two finish in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby.

Taiba, a $1.7-million Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-old purchase by Medina Spirit owner Zedan Racing Stables, looks to become the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby in just his third start since Leonatus in 1883. Messier, a 15-length winner of the GIII Robert B. Lewis S., is the third choice on the morning-line at 8-1; Taiba is listed at 12-1.

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, seeking his third win in the Kentucky Derby, will be represented by the trio of: GII Wood Memorial S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) (post one), GI Curlin Florida Derby runner-up and 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit) (post eight) and Louisiana Derby third Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) (post 11).

Live coverage of the Kentucky Derby will be provided by NBC from 2:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (ET). Post time for the Derby is 6:57 p.m.

From the rail out, the complete field of 20 for the Kentucky Derby:

1-Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) (10-1)

2-Happy Jack (Oxbow) (30-1)

3-Epicenter (Not This Time) (7-2)

4-Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front) (30-1)

5-Smile Happy (Runhappy) (20-1)

6-Messier (Empire Maker) (8-1)

7-Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}) (20-1)

8-Charge It (Tapit) (20-1)

9-Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) (30-1)

10-Zandon (Upstart) (3-1)

11-Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) (30-1)

12-Taiba (Gun Runner) (12-1)

13-Simplification (Not This Time) (20-1)

14-Barber Road (Race Day) (30-1)

15-White Abarrio (Race Day) (10-1)

16-Cyberknife (Gun Runner) (20-1)

17-Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) (30-1)

18-Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) (30-1)

19-Zozos (Munnings) (20-1)

20-Ethereal Road (Quality Road) (30-1)

Also-Eligibles: Rich Strike (Keen Ice) (30-1) and Rattle N Roll (Connect) (30-1).

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