Swiss Skydiver | Horse Racing Free Tips

Daredevil to Stand at Lane’s End for 2021

One of the top second-crop sires Daredevil (More Than Ready–Chasethewildwind, by Forty Niner) will relocate to Lane’s End Farm for the 2021 breeding season. The GI Champagne S. victor will stand for $25,000.

Sire of 3-year-old sensations Swiss Skydiver and Shedaresthedevil, Daredevil is third on the North American-based, second-crop sire behind only American Pharoah and Constitution with just over half as many starters.

Daredevil is the only first-crop sire to ever sire an individual winner of the GI Kentucky Oaks and the GI Preakness S. in the same year. Swiss Skydiver is only the sixth filly to win the second leg of the Triple Crown in its 145 years. Shedaresthedevil was her sire’s first Classic winner in 2020 and led home the exacta for her sire in the most prestigious 3-year-old fillies race of the year. These two Grade I winners from just 74 starters in 2020 represent a 2.78%, Grade I winners to starters. Behind only Galileo worldwide at 3.6% and ahead of North American-based super sires War Front (1.5%), Speightstown (1.35%), More Than Ready (1.27%), Tapit (.83%) and Into Mischief (.77%) in 2020.

After standing his first four years at stud at WinStar, Daredevil was sold to The Turkish Jockey Club. Daredevil covered 97 mares in his first season in Turkey this year, the biggest book of any stallion in the country. Daredevil will stand at Lane’s End as property of the Jockey Club of Turkey.

“We are extremely honored that the Jockey Club of Turkey is entrusting us with the continuation of Daredevil’s stallion career in America,” said Bill Farish. “What he has accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. I would like to personally thank Murat Sancal for his ongoing efforts, the board members of the TJK, and especially the President Mr. Serdal Adali. This is the beginning of a very fruitful relationship with them and we are very grateful.”

Daredevil is in quarantine in preparation for his departure to Kentucky. He will arrive at Lane’s End near the end of November and be available for inspection shortly after.

The post Daredevil to Stand at Lane’s End for 2021 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Swiss Skydiver Jumps To Second In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

It has yet to be determined which Breeders' Cup race top sophomore filly Swiss Skydiver will enter. What is assured is that the Preakness Stakes winner will carry strong regard to any starting gate she enters as she continues to inch up the ranks in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.

In the wake of her victory over Kentucky Derby winner and poll leader Authentic in the October 3 Preakness, Swiss Skydiver remains under consideration for a start in either the Breeders' Cup Distaff or another showdown against males in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7. The daughter of Daredevil was one of the few movers on this week's poll, earning 12 first-place votes and 303 points to move up one spot to second, just ahead of Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law (8 first-place votes, 301 points) in third.

Authentic continues to hold down the top spot in the 3-Year-Old Poll with 14 first-place votes and 312 points. Both Authentic and Tiz the Law are scheduled to be part of the Breeders' Cup Classic field.

Grade 2 winner Art Collector (185 points) ranks fourth ahead of Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Happy Saver (173). Honor A. P., who has been retired to stud, is sixth with 113 points followed by multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine (97 points), who is expected to contest the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and Max Player remain tied for eighth with 82 points apiece while Mystic Guide, who was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, rounds out the top 10 with 60 points.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Improbable is likely to vie for favoritism in the Breeders' Cup Classic as the son of City Zip continues to hold the lead in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 29 first-place votes and 335 points. Trained by Bob Baffert, Improbable will bring a three-race win streak into the Classic with his most recent win coming in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park on September 26.

Champion Maximum Security was bested by Improbable in the Awesome Again Stakes and remains behind his stablemate in the poll with 2 first-place votes and 246 points. Multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma (1 first-place vote, 206 points) moves up one spot this week to third, two points ahead of fellow top-level winner Tom's d'Etat (2 first-place votes, 204 points).

Champion Monomoy Girl (192 points) holds in fifth followed by multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards with 130 points. Authentic (107 points) and Tiz the Law (104) rank seventh and eighth, respectively, with Swiss Skydiver (89) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (62) completing the top 10.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

The post Swiss Skydiver Jumps To Second In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner Happy Saver Jumps To Fifth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

When he surged up the rail and hit the finish line first in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 10, Happy Saver inserted himself into the discussion of top tier contenders in the sophomore male division. Indeed, when the votes were tallied in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll, the son of Super Saver found himself among the elite.

Happy Saver bested a field that included such older foes as graded stakes winner Tacitus in the Jockey Club Gold Cup to give trainer Todd Pletcher his long-awaited first triumph in the storied race. That victory, which also marked the colt's first try against graded stakes company in four career starts, earned Happy Saver 174 points this week to move him into the fifth position. Following a debut victory on June 20 at Belmont Park, Happy Saver prevailed going two turns at Saratoga en route to a triumph in the Sept. 7 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, ahead of his Jockey Club Gold Cup outing.

“What he's been able to accomplish you don't see very many other horses do,” Pletcher told the NYRA publicity team of Happy Saver. “He went from a seven-furlong maiden on June 20 to a mile and an eighth allowance at Saratoga, to a mile and an eighth stake at Laurel and came back to Belmont and then to win a Grade 1 going a mile and a quarter against older horses is something you don't see very often.”

Whether Happy Saver heads to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7 is still to be determined. Should he end up in that starting gate, his list of challengers will likely include Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, who continues to hold the top spot in the 3-Year-Old Poll.

Authentic, who was beaten a neck by the filly Swiss Skydiver in the October 3 Preakness Stakes, earned 17 first-place votes and 342 points to hold onto the top spot for yet another week. Belmont and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law remains second with eight first-place votes and 328 points with Swiss Skydiver (12 first-place votes, 326 points) in third.

Grade 2 winner Art Collector (203 points) holds down the fourth position ahead of Happy Saver while Grade 1 winner Honor A. P., who has been retired to stud, drops one spot to sixth with 129 points.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Gamine (103 points) is seventh with Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil and Max Player now tied for eighth with 80 points apiece. Grade 2 winner Mystic Guide, who was second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, rounds out the top 10 with 57 points.

With sophomore runners taking the top two spots in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the handicap division had no major shifts this week. Multiple Grade 1 winner Improbable remains out front in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 32 first-place votes and 365 points as the son of City Zip has won three straight top-level contests.

Champion Maximum Security, runner-up to Improbable in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 26, is second with two first-place votes and 271 points. Tom's d'Etat (two first-place votes, 218 points) is third followed by Vekoma (one first-place vote, 202 points) and champion Monomoy Girl (191 points).

Multiple graded stakes winner By My Standards remains sixth with 147 points while Authentic (124 points) and Tiz the Law (117) rank seventh and eighth, respectively. Swiss Skydiver (104 points) and multiple Grade 1 winner Rushing Fall (71) complete the top ten.

The post Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner Happy Saver Jumps To Fifth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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McPeek, Gaffalione’s Agent Pointing Fingers Over Preakness Decision With Swiss Skydiver

Tyler Gaffalione rode top 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver to win the G1 Alabama and then to a second-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, and according to her trainer Ken McPeek, was scheduled to ride her in her next start, as well. This week, McPeek told the Thoroughbred Daily News that Gaffalione's agent, Matt Muzikar, had reneged on their agreement.

“I announced that we're going to run in the Preakness and Tyler was on board,” McPeek said on the podcast. “By maybe 6:00 that night, his agent tells us that he can't ride. And I'm like, 'Look, you've given us a two-race commitment [GI Kentucky Oaks and Preakness].' He said, 'Oh well, sorry, I've got to ride for Chad Brown at Keeneland.' I said, 'You can't do this. It's dishonorable.' I've been doing this for 35 years and I've never had something like that happen. I still find it dishonorable. Shame on Tyler Gaffalione and his agent.”

Muzikar responded Friday, telling TDN that McPeek had informed him, nine days prior, that Swiss Skydiver would be running in the Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, held on the day after this year's Preakness Stakes. Thus, Muzikar began booking Gaffalione mounts for Keeneland that weekend.

When McPeek announced that he planned to run the filly in the Preakness at Pimlico instead, seven days ahead of the race, Muzikar wasn't able to get out of his commitments at Keeneland on Saturday. McPeek wound up giving the Preakness call on Swiss Skydiver to Robby Albarado, who won the race.

“What did he expect us to do? Not take business for the Preakness card or at Keeneland and sit there and wait for Kenny McPeek because the world revolves around him?” Muzikar said. “Knocking me and the jockey, he crossed a line.

“Tyler had nothing to do with this whole situation, so I don't like him knocking the jockey. Tyler is the greatest kid and the greatest jock I have had in the 26 years I have been doing this. He did nothing to him.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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