Tapit Colt on Top at OBS Winter Mixed Sale

A colt by Tapit (hip 42) attracted the highest bid of $225,000 during Tuesday's open session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Winter Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale when New York conditioner Dave Cannizzo outlasted trainer Mark Casse for the short yearling, who was consigned by Stuart Morris.

“He's the only horse I bid on today,” Cannizzo said Tuesday afternoon. “He was a standout. It's what we came here to do and we did it. We got in a little dogfight with Mark Casse, but we won the battle. We were well within ourselves at the $225,000 and we didn't mind giving it.”

Cannizzo purchased the yearling's half-brother by Uncle Mo for $230,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and came to Ocala specifically to add another member of the family.

“Obviously, Tapit brings a ton of interest to the table,” Cannizzo said of the yearling's appeal. “We purchased his now 2-year-old brother at Keeneland September and we really like him, so it pushed us in the right direction. He was a standout at the sale today. We knew we had to get him.”

Cannizzo said he purchased both brothers for the same client.

“[The yearling] will probably end up in the Saratoga sale or back at Keeneland September and we will go from there,” Cannizzo said. “I'm not sure about the other one–it's all up in the air. I bought them for a client who does some pinhooking and he races, too. We will see how it all unfolds and how it turns out.”

The yearling, who was bred by Aaron Sones, is out of Heat Street (Street Cry {Ire}), an unraced half-sister to multiple stakes winner Dash of Humor (Distorted Humor). The mare is also the dam of stakes-placed Miss Boom Boom (Run Away and Hide).

Tuesday's return to the sales ring was a quick turnaround for the colt, who was purchased for $70,000 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale just over two months ago.

“He was purchased by a partnership of Ocala horsemen who purchased him to resell,” Morris said of the colt. “He was maybe in an awkward stage, maybe a bit immature in November, but he was heading in the right direction. He was a lovely colt who vetted well and looks like he'll make a nice racehorse.”

Morris said the market in Ocala–away from the pinhookers who were prevalent in Kentucky in November–may have helped produce the nifty profit Tuesday.

“I think he caught a good market with two end-users hooking up on him,” Morris said. “Mark Casse was the underbidder and he's always very aggressive down there buying horses for his racing program.”

During the consignor preferred session, 96 head sold for $2,601,700. The average was $27,101 and the median was $19,000.

At the close of business of last year's consignor preferred session, before the addition of post-sale transactions, 99 horses sold for a gross of $3,074,300. The average was $21,499 and the median was $10,000.

Hip 42 was one of two six-figure offerings during the consignor preferred section of Tuesday's sale. A colt from the first crop of Gunnevera (hip 29), consigned by Danielle Loya's Silver Oaks Farm, was purchased for $100,000 by Machmer Hall.

Riptide Rock (Point of Entry) (hip 342), part of a group of 11 supplemented horses owned by Stronach Stables and consigned by Richard Kent's Kaizen Sales, brought the highest price during the horses of racing age section of Tuesday's sale when bringing a final bid of $72,000 from Ocala horseman Randy Miles.

A 5-year-old gelding, Riptide Rock was second in the 2021 Queen's Plate and GIII Ontario Derby. He was seventh in the Nov. 6 GII Autumn S. in his most recent trip to the post for trainer Sid Attard.

The OBS Winter Mixed sale continues with an open session which begins Wednesday at noon.

The post Tapit Colt on Top at OBS Winter Mixed Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Green Light Go Euthanized After Belmont Workout

Green Light Go (h, 5, Hard Spun–Light Green, by Pleasantly Perfect), winner of the 2019 GII Saratoga Special S. and runner-up in that term's GI Champagne S., was euthanized after breaking the sesamoid bone in his right foreleg during a workout Friday morning over the Belmont Park training track, according to Daily Racing Form's David Grening.

“It looked like he was just cruising,” trainer Jimmy Jerkens told DRF.

The Stronach Stables runner was preparing for a start May 7 in the GIII Westchester S. at Belmont Park following a fourth-place effort behind Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) in the GI Carter H. Apr. 9. The narrow 2021 GIII Fall Highweight H. runner-up entered that contest riding a two-race winning streak, including the Stymie S. Feb. 26.

Green Light Go, bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, posted a record of 14-5-3-1 and $545,102 in lifetime earnings.

The post Green Light Go Euthanized After Belmont Workout appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Silent Poet Dashes To Victory In Highlander Stakes At Woodbine

Trying Grade 1 stakes company for the first time, Caravel darted out to the lead early in the Highlander Stakes, but Silent Poet was fastest at the end in the last of the stakes races on the Queen's Plate card at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The Stronach Stables 6-year-old gelding hung back in third for the first five furlongs of the six-furlong Highlander and took over the lead in the stretch to find the wire first and get his first Grade 1 victory.

Chuck Willis was fastest out of the gate, but Caravel, fresh off her Grade 3 win in the Caress at Saratoga, took over in the first quarter of the Highlander, leaving Chuck Willis in second on the rail and Silent Poet in third on her outside. The filly held on to the lead through early fractions of :22.35 for the first quarter and :45.16 for the half-mile, but, as the field hit the top of the stretch, Silent Poet kicked into gear, passing the filly to take the lead with Admiralty Pier out toward the middle of the track mounting his challenge. At the wire, Silent Poet was a half-length in front, with Admiralty Pier passing Caravel for second, the filly holding off City Boy for third. Honey Won't, Chuck Willis, Old Chestnut, and Turned Aside rounded out the field.

The final time for the six furlongs over a firm E.P. Taylor turf course was 1.07.98. Find this race's chart here.

Silent Poet paid $21.90, $9.80, and $4.70. Admiralty Pier paid $9.60 and $5.20. Caravel paid $2.10.

Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, Silent Poet is by Silent Name, sired by Sunday Silence, out of the unraced mare Cara Bella, by Ghostzapper. Trained by Nicholas Gonzalez, he was ridden by Justin Stein. The G1 Highlander is Silent Poet's first win in three starts in 2021 for a lifetime record of 11 wins in 21 starts.

The post Silent Poet Dashes To Victory In Highlander Stakes At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Making Claims: A Closing Argument To Put Awesome Again In The Hall Of Fame

In “Making Claims,” Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills shares his opinions on the Thoroughbred industry from the breeding and sales arenas to the racing world and beyond.

From the centuries-old nurseries to the furthest-flung outposts, the goal of Thoroughbred breeding is to get a horse like Awesome Again – the kind of horse that secures a legacy for decades.

Awesome Again laid the foundation for over 20 years of high-level success for the Adena Springs operation as a runner and a stallion, and he provided one of the biggest victories in the storied career of owner Frank Stronach when he took the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic. Though he stood just 16 hands tall, the 26-year-old left a massive footprint on the breed, and a hole just as big when he died on Dec. 15.

It sure feels like Awesome Again should be in the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, but he isn't. In fact, he's been eligible for 17 years, and he's still on the wrong side of the velvet rope.

Awesome Again's recent death has the Thoroughbred world reflecting on his life and accomplishments, which means this is as good a time as there's going to be to stage a “last stand,” and make one final case for putting a deserving horse in the Hall of Fame.

To be sure, Awesome Again suffered no shortage of acclaim over the course of his life. He was named to Canada's Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Ontario-bred's achievements were so great, he was given a Special Sovereign Award in 1998 when he didn't have enough starts in his home country to qualify for the regular run of Sovereign Awards. More than two decades after making his final start, he remains the highest-earning Canadian-born Thoroughbred of all-time, amassing earnings of more than $4.3 million.

To determine why Awesome Again belongs in the Hall of Fame, I have identified some of the factors that go into my own Hall of Fame selection process when the ballot comes in the mail (chiefly, sustained high-level success and dominance over his opponents), and some potential shortcomings on Awesome Again's resume that have apparently kept him out. Then, I examine “The Bar:” the horses in the Hall of Fame who are perceived to have the least acclaim in a given category while still getting enshrined; and I identify how Awesome Again meets or exceeds that standard.

Before we dive in, it's important to note that Hall of Fame credentials are based on racetrack performance, meaning Awesome Again's outstanding stallion career, and his role in maintaining Adena Springs' high standing in the business, cannot be taken into consideration. Since 1990, the only horses to claim both a Hall of Fame spot and the leading North American sire title were Alydar and A.P. Indy; both of which earned their spots in the pantheon for their on-track exploits.

With that out of the way, let's poke some holes in the case against Awesome Again's Hall of Fame bid.

Standard: Sustained Success
Perceived Weakness: Awesome Again didn't beat Grade 1 competition until age four.
The Bar: Lava Man and Waya

It's easy to argue that Awesome Again had a lopsided career over the course of his two seasons on the track. He was a perfect six-for-six as a 4-year-old, and he didn't have a Grade 1 victory during his sophomore campaign. That 3-year-old run included wins in the Queen's Plate and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, compared with five graded wins the following season.

It's unusual for a Hall of Famer to get in without a Grade 1-caliber 3-year-old campaign, but it has been done. Lava Man didn't win his first graded stakes race until the middle of his 4-year-old season, while the French mare Waya, a 2019 inductee, didn't get her first Grade 1 triumph until the end of her 4-year-old season. Like Awesome Again, both horses went on to become top-shelf runners once they matured.

The Hall of Fame loves a precocious horse, but that's not the only way through the door.

Standard: Sustained Success
Perceived Weakness: Awesome Again only had one season at the highest level
The Bar: Dance Smartly, A.P. Indy, and Winning Colors

Awesome Again was a Queen's Plate winner and took home a Grade 2 victory at three, and it's fair to count that as supporting evidence for a Hall of Fame resume, but not the meat of it. His ascent to the top of the handicap division took place during his 4-year-old season, when he went a perfect six-for-six. Among those wins during his 1998 campaign were triumphs in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the G1 Whitney Handicap, the G2 Stephen Foster and Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicaps, and the G3 Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap. Then, he retired, essentially leaving one season where he was a top threat.

One season at the very top of the mountain is admittedly pretty light for a Hall of Fame resume, but not entirely unheard of. Fellow Ontario-bred Dance Smartly was very good on her home turf at two, but she didn't hit her true ascent until age three when she won the Canadian Triple Crown and capped her season off with a Breeders' Cup Distaff score. She fell back to earth at four, and never won another graded stakes race.

Similarly, Winning Colors earned her first stakes victory in January of her sophomore season, and she never won another graded stakes race after she wowed in the Kentucky Derby, missing out in her next nine graded tries.

Just so we're not just picking on the fillies in this segment, consider A.P. Indy. His first graded stakes win came in the G1 Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 22 of his juvenile season. His run between that win and his Horse of the Year-clinching triumph in the 1992 Breeders' Cup Classic was remarkable, but it all happened within the span of less than 12 months.

If Awesome Again needed to stay competitive at the top for at least a calendar year, it's fair to start the clock with his third in the G1 Travers Stakes as a 3-year-old and run through his Breeders' Cup Classic score the following year, and that leaves his Queen's Plate and Jim Dandy out of the conversation. If one year at the top is enough, he's got it.

Standard: Sustained Success
Perceived Weakness: Awesome Again raced only 12 times
The Bar: 11 current Hall of Famers; Justify and American Pharoah in the near future

Yes, Awesome Again would be on the lower end of the spectrum among the Hall of Famers, a group that has eight members with 100 or more starts, led by 1899 Horse of the Year Imp with 171. However, he'd be far from the least experienced member of the group.

The great A.P. Indy made the cut with 11 starts. Ghostzapper, Awesome Again's greatest son, got the call to Saratoga Springs with the same number of starts.

The average is probably going to get even lower in the coming years, as Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify all but certainly get their invitations. American Pharoah retired with 11 career starts, while Justify raced just six times. If and when Justify gets the call, he will have the fewest starts of any Hall of Famer, usurping 1800s stars Lexington and Sir Archy with seven each.

Standard: Dominance Over Competition
Perceived Weakness: No Eclipse Awards
The Bar: Alydar, Lava Man, Lure, Best Pal, Ancient Title, etc.

Sometimes, an all-time great has the misfortune of being in the same division as another all-time great, and there are only so many year-end honors to go around. There are a lot of good horses in the Hall of Fame without Eclipse Awards on their mantles, and there are a lot of good horses who might never get in who have one or more on their resumes – even Horses of the Year. Having one always helps, but it's not a prerequisite.

While we're on the subject, it's worth noting that Awesome Again finished second in the voting to Skip Away – a horse he beat in the Breeders' Cup Classic – in the 1998 Horse of the Year voting.

To save us all some writing and reading, this answers the question “Was Awesome Again considered at any point to be the best horse in his division, if not the best horse in training?” At least 34 voters thought so in 1998. For at least his straight-arrow stretch drive in the Classic, they were absolutely right.

Standard: Dominance Over Competition
Perceived Weakness: He only has two Grade 1 wins
The Bar: Xtra Heat

This is one of the biggest factors keeping Awesome Again out of the Hall of Fame, and it's understandable. There are Grade 1 win machines out there who would get laughed out of the building if they were considered for this lofty spot. Even though one of those wins was in the Breeders' Cup Classic, two Grade 1 victories would put Awesome Again near the bottom of the list if he made it in the club – counting horses that ran after the modern graded stakes system was implemented, of course.

But he wouldn't be at the very bottom.

Xtra Heat, who earned the champion 3-year-old filly title in 2001, was enshrined in 2015 with just one Grade 1 win to her name – the 2001 Prioress Stakes.

Granted, there are some other factors to consider here. Xtra Heat won loads of other graded stakes races, and she got achingly close to Grade 1 glory elsewhere, including missing out by a half-length when she tested male competition in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The mare more than earned her spot among the immortals, but if the bar to get in is one Grade 1 score, Awesome Again doubled it.

Standard: Dominance Over Competition
Perceived Weakness: Who did he beat?
The Bar: We don't need no stinking bar.

Here is a list of the horses Awesome Again beat in the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic alone:

– Hall of Famer and eventual 1998 Horse of the Year Skip Away
– Hall of Famer and dual classic winner Silver Charm
– Champion and Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop
– European champion Swain
– Argentine champion Gentlemen
– Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold
– Grade 1 winners Coronado's Quest and Arch

Of course, if we let horses into the Hall of Fame off a single victory, even if it's against an incredibly deep field on the biggest stage, we'd be celebrating the career of figurative Hall of Famer Arcangues, and then we'd have to re-examine the entire admission process. So, I've put together a tale of the tape to display just who Awesome Again beat over the course of his career:

– Two Hall of Famers (and he beat Silver Charm twice)
– Three Eclipse Award winners (and he beat Silver Charm twice)
– Three international champions
– Three U.S. classic winners (and he beat Silver Charm twice)
– One Canadian classic winner
– 13 Grade/Group 1 winners
– 31 total graded/group stakes winners

Only two horses in that distinguished group got their revenge and finished ahead of Awesome Again in races he didn't win: Grade 1 winners Behrens and Precocity.

That's a lot of winning crammed into 12 races.

Make no mistake, Awesome Again is a fringe Hall of Fame candidate. He wouldn't still be waiting on his call, and I wouldn't have to argue this hard, if he wasn't. Still, if we're looking at what makes a Hall of Famer, it's fair to say he's at least done the minimum to get over the line, based on the ones already on the other side.

It's time to finally lift the hook off the velvet rope and let Awesome Again into the Hall of Fame club. Let's take one more look and see if he's on the list.

The post Making Claims: A Closing Argument To Put Awesome Again In The Hall Of Fame appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights