Tag: TDN Rising Star

Omaha Beach’s First Rising Star Ready for Next Step

The Starlight Racing and Harrell Ventures partnership was always excited about their well-bred son of Omaha Beach named Pirate, but their anticipation for the colt's debut reached an all-time high when he was assigned the infamous first stall adjacent to Todd Pletcher's office at his barn on the Oklahoma.

“We've been working with Todd for 23 years and it's hard to get him to get really excited about a horse,” joked Starlight's founder and managing partner Jack Wolf. “But you could tell that he liked ours from the get-go.”

Pirate fulfilled all expectations in his debut last Saturday when he rolled to a three-length victory to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. The Peter Blum-bred half-brother to GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Road) was not only the first Rising Star of the Saratoga season, but also the first to earn the accolade for his freshman sire Omaha Beach.

Spendthrift sire Omaha Beach received a warm welcome at stud in 2020 as a three-time Grade I-winning son of War Front from the family of influential broodmare Take Charge Lady (Dehere). Omaha Beach now has four winners on the year so far, include Group 3-placed Launch.

Frankie Brothers, who is now retired as an agent and member of the Keeneland inspection team, was the one who encouraged the Starlight team to pursue the first crop of Omaha Beach.

“I give all the credit to Frankie Brothers,” said Starlight's racing manager Corbin Blumberg. “Prior to the sale, he called me and told me that the Omaha Beach horses were standouts physically. So going into the September Sale, we definitely had our eye out and were lucky that [Pirate] was the one that we were able to get. We really liked him and we were thrilled to get him for $350,000. To be honest, we thought we were going to have to stretch a bit for him. Doug Cauthen loved him as well. Physically, he was really correct. He had a great hind end and a really good top.”

“Personality-wise, too, he's just a real laid-back, cool horse,” added Wolf.

Wolf shared that Pirate came out of his first race in good order and that Pletcher has indicated that the colt will point to either the Aug. 12 GII Saratoga Special S. or the Sept. 4 GI Hopeful S.

“As usual, Todd will let the horse tell him, but just hanging out this morning, he looks like he's ready to do something again,” Wolf said.

The Starlight team is looking forward to finding out how Omaha Beach's best qualities will develop in this promising young son of his.

“War Front gets a lot of early 2-year-olds and Omaha Beach had that class on dirt,” explained Blumberg. “I think Pirate has the best of both worlds. He's obviously a precocious 2-year-old, but he showed on Saturday the ability on dirt that we love.”

Until Pirate's return to the starting gate, his connections will continue to celebrate a memorable Saratoga debut.

“For him to win like he did and become a Rising Star is super exciting,” said Blumberg. “Hopefully the rest of the meet goes as we hope. We're excited to have a horse like him in the barn with the Harrells and Todd.”

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No Nay Never’s TDN Rising Star Les Pavots Strikes At Vichy

Adding more gravitas, if any were needed, to her compatriot Ramatuelle (Justify) who had handed her a comprehensive beating in the G3 Prix du Bois, Haras d'Etreham and Craig Bernick's TDN Rising Star Les Pavots (Ire) (No Nay Never) found her level on Wednesday evening when winning Vichy's Listed Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles. Beaten 6 3/4 lengths by that hugely-talented Christopher Head trainee in the six-furlong test at Chantilly last month, the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained half-sister to the G1 Cox Plate and G1 Tancred S. hero Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) was up a furlong here and Mickael Barzalona was able to sit near the back and bide his time.

Still towards rear turning for home, the 19-10 favourite got rolling soon after to swoop on the front end passing the furlong pole. At the line, the filly who had been one of a trio of private purchases from Coolmore last year had half a length to spare over Juddmonte's Employ (Ire) (Caravaggio), with a neck back to Tulipa Chope (Fr) (Born To Sea {Ire}) in third.

Les Pavots, who had been handed the TDN Rising Star tag on her impressive debut over the Prix du Bois course and distance in early May, had found Balsam (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) 3/4 of a length too strong in this track's Listed Prix des Reves d'Or dropping to five later that month. That form was shown in a kind light when the winner went on to finish just over five lengths behind Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) in Royal Ascot's G2 Queen Mary S. next time and five furlongs was always going to be on the sharp side for a filly with this pedigree.

Les Pavots is the fifth of six foals out of Coolmore's G3 Ballyogan S.-placed Sparrow (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who also produced the dual stakes winner and G3 Gordon S. runner-up Sir Lucan (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Her dam is the G3 Middleton S. winner and Oaks runner-up All Too Beautiful (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), a daughter of the legendary Urban Sea (Miswaki) and therefore a full-sister to the great Galileo (Ire). Sparrow's yearling colt is by Camelot (GB).

Wednesday, Vichy, France
PRIX DES JOUVENCEAUX ET DES JOUVENCELLES – BERNARD FERRAND-Listed, €60,000, Vichy, 7-19, 2yo, 7fT, 1:26.09, g/s.
1–LES PAVOTS (IRE), 125, f, 2, by No Nay Never
1st Dam: Sparrow (Ire) (GSP-Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB)
2nd Dam: All Too Beautiful (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Urban Sea, by Miswaki
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Craig Bernick & Haras d'Etreham; B-Coolmore Stud (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Mickael Barzalona. €30,000. Lifetime Record: GSP-Fr, 4-2-1-1, €69,000. *1/2 to Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), MG1SW-Aus, GSW-Eng & G1SP-Ire, $3,663,231; and Sir Lucan (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), SW & GSP-Aus, SW-Ire & GSP-Eng, $192,495.
2–Employ (Ire), 125, f, 2, Caravaggio–Emergent (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Henri-Francois Devin. €12,000.
3–Tulipa Chope (Fr), 125, f, 2, Born To Sea (Ire)–Tulipe Rouge (Fr), by Panis. 1ST BLACK TYPE. (€5,000 Ylg '22 OSASEP). O-Alain Jathiere; B-Alain Chopard & Cedric Boutin (FR); T-Stephane Wattel. €9,000.
Margins: HF, NK, 2HF. Odds: 1.90, 7.60, 3.90.
Also Ran: Lightning Leo (GB), Man With The Plan (Ire), Vive La Reine (Fr), Wootton Verni (Fr), Gee Whizzer (Fr), Rose Academy (Fr). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Banner Weekend For Justify As TDN Rising Star Ramatuelle Downs Robert Papin Rivals

Hot on the hooves of 'TDN Rising Star' City Of Troy notching an impressive tally in Newmarket's G2 Superlative S., Christopher Head trainee and 'TDN Rising Star' Ramatuelle embellished her sire Justify's banner weekend with a spectacular performance in Sunday's G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly.

The February-foaled €100,000 Arqana August graduate went postward as a heavily favoured 2-5 chance, returning off a wide-margin triumph over the six-furlong course and distance in last month's G3 Prix du Bois, and was swiftly into stride to occupy a prominent role here. Last to come off the bridle after halfway, she cruised into an outright lead approaching the final furlong and eased clear of toiling rivals with the minimum of fuss in the closing stages to hit the line with an impressive four-length advantage from G2 Railway S. third His Majesty (Ire) (No Nay Never). The hitherto undefeated Classic Flower (GB) (Calyx {GB}) was 3/4-of-a-length further adrift in third.

Ramatuelle became US Triple Crown hero Justify's fifth 'TDN Rising Star' when powering to an Apr. 11 debut success over five furlongs at this track, but was denied by 'TDN Rising Star' and subsequent Listed Prix Roland de Chambure victor Beauvatier (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in a May 28 conditions test upped to six furlongs at Saint-Cloud in her penultimate outing.

“She is so good, she behaves like an older filly and is a true professional already,” Head explained in the aftermath of collecting a first win in the contest, which stemmed the flow of nine consecutive overseas winners. “She is not the most physically impressive filly, but it is the engine that matters most. I am very lucky to train her and very grateful to the partners. I don't really know if she will stay further, but that's not the point at the moment. We shall now concentrate on the [Aug. 20 G1] Prix Morny and will do our best to get her there in great shape. It is another very exciting challenge.”

NBA All-Star Tony Parker and part-owner added, “It was a great win and I'm very happy for the whole team. Her number one quality is her calmness. She's been super calm every time I have come to see her and she looks like she knows exactly what she's going to do. The coach has done a great job, we have a plan and we're sticking to it. It was her third race here and she's very comfortable on this track. Now it's on to the Prix Morny next month.”

Reflecting on the performance of third-place finisher Classic Flower, Pauline Chehboub said, “We are delighted with that run. She is a massive filly and we had to slow her down in her training due to sore shins. She needed the race and now needs further. We will see her back in action at Deauville, she is in the [G3] Prix Six Perfections and [G3 Prix du] Calvados later this month, but options might come too soon.”

 

Pedigree Notes
Ramatuelle, one of her sire's 10 pattern-race winners, is the first of three foals produced by G2 Goldene Peitsche and G3 Summer S. victrix Raven's Lady (GB) (Raven's Pass). She is a full-sister to a weanling colt and half to a yearling filly by Uncle Mo. Raven's Lady is out of an unraced half-sister to G1 Prix d'Ispahan-winning sire Best Of The Bests (Ire) (Machiavellian), G2 Dante S. third Dunhill Star (Ire) (Danehill) and the dam of MGSW G1 Melbourne Cup runner-up Prince Of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}). The February-foaled chestnut's third dam, G3 Fred Darling S. winner Sueboog (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), is a half-sister to the dam of GSW G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Prix Jean Prat runner-up Shaanmer (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) and stakes-winning GI Garden City Breeders' Cup H. second Nordican Inch (GB) (Inchinor {GB}).

Sunday, Chantilly, France
PRIX ROBERT PAPIN-G2, €130,000, Chantilly, 7-16, 2yo, 6fT, 1:09.55, gd.
1–RAMATUELLE, 125, f, 2, by Justify
1st Dam: Raven's Lady (GB) (GSW-Eng & Ger, $238,499), by Raven's Pass
2nd Dam: Pivotal Lady (GB), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Sueboog (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
(€100,000 Ylg '22 ARQAUG). O-Infinity Nine Horses, Ecurie des Monceaux, Hollymount Stud France SC, Chun Wai Kwok, Arthur Hoyeau, Mme Ilse Smits & Clement Tropres; B-Yeguada Centurion SLU (KY); T-Christopher Head; J-Aurelien Lemaitre. €74,100. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, €145,900. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–His Majesty (Ire), 128, c, 2, No Nay Never–Czabo (GB), by Sixties Icon (GB). (325,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Smith, Magnier, Tabor, Westerberg & Brant; B-Newstead Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €28,600.
3–Classic Flower (GB), 125, f, 2, Calyx (GB)–Crown Of Flowers (GB), by Garswood (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (45,000gns Wlg '21 TATFOA). O-Gousserie Racing & Jean-Etienne Dubois; B-Petches Farm Ltd (GB); T-Patrice Cottier. €13,650.
Margins: 4, 3/4, 3HF. Odds: 0.40, 4.20, 4.50.
Also Ran: Myconian (Ire), Balsam (Fr). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Ahoy Matey! Pirate Romps In Debut at Saratoga

On paper, it looked like Pirate (Omaha Beach) had a lot going for him in Saturday's first race at Saratoga, a $105,000 maiden special weight run at 5 1/2 furlongs. A half-brother to GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Road), he sold for $350,000 at Keeneland September, had a bullet four-furlong work leading up to the race and hailed from the mighty Todd Pletcher barn. So it was hardly a surprise when he cruised to a three-length win, covering the distance in 1:04.89 for the partnership of Harrell Ventures, LLC and Starlight Racing en route to being named a 'TDN Rising Star'. Bet off the board, he paid $2.70.

“I thought Pirate ran fantastic,” said Jack Wolf, the managing partner and founder of Starlight.  “You never know, but I think Todd expected him to run well. I don't know what the figure will be, but I know Todd thought going into the race that he was a good horse. And now he's the winner of a maiden special weight race at Saratoga.”

Breaking from post one under Irad Ortiz Jr., Pirate was quick out of the gate and quickly took control of the race. He was pressed early by Arteta (Take Charge Indy), shook that one off entering the top of the stretch and then had plenty left when eventual runner-up Just Steel (Justify) made his run.

“We thought he would win,” Wolf said. “He ran to the way he trained. Irad has been on him in the mornings. I probably won't commit suicide over the next two or three weeks.”

The GI Hopeful S. looks like a logical spot for Pirate to make his next start.

“Todd makes all those decisions, but wouldn't you think the Hopeful would be next, especially with the way he won?” Wolf said. “It certainly looks like a possibility.”

Starlight is among a large ownership group that owns National Treasure.

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