Undefeated Howling Time Takes On Juv. Turf Runner Up Tiz The Bomb In Kentucky Jockey Club

The Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes Saturday from Churchill Downs where Albaugh Family Stables' undefeated colt Howling Time, the winner of the $200,000 Street Sense four weeks ago, tops an ultra-competitive cast of 14 colts and geldings that entered the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade 2).

The 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club will award points to the Top 4 finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward a spot in the starting gate in the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). The race will share the Saturday spotlight with its counterpart for 2-year-old fillies, the $400,000 Golden Rod (G2). The Golden Rod will award the same scale of points to the Top 4 finishers for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

The Kentucky Jockey Club will go as Race 11 of 12 with a post time of 5:56 p.m. First post is 1 p.m. Along with the Kentucky Jockey Club and the Golden Rod (Race 10), the Saturday program also features the inaugural runnings of the 6 ½-furlong $200,000 Lively Shively in Race 9 and $200,000 Fern Creek for fillies in Race 12.

Howling Time enters the Kentucky Jockey Club unblemished in two career starts for trainer Dale Romans. The colt by Not This Time cruised to a 3 ¼-length victory in the Street Sense, the local prep for the Kentucky Jockey Club on “Stars of Tomorrow I.” The Kentucky-bred broke his maiden at first asking in September when he rallied from six lengths off the early pace for a 1 ½-length victory at odds of 5-1.

“We always thought he showed some promise in his training,” Romans said. “He was really impressive breaking his maiden back in September and proved it wasn't a fluke winning the Street Sense. His looks remind me a lot of his sire. He's got the size and stride that make them similar.”

Howling Time will once again be ridden by Joe Talamo from post No. 5.

“It seems like every race he keeps improving,” Talamo said. “Dale said he's doing even better going into this race than the last one. He has the right mind to him. Coming out of a sprint in his first start he had every right to get tired going two turns for the first time but he was all class. That's half the battle right there, especially with a young horse. He sure passed the test.”

One of the other top contenders Howling Time will face in the Kentucky Jockey Club is Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper's 6 ½-length Saratoga debut winner Classic Causeway. Trained by Brian Lynch, Classic Causeway was the 9-5 favorite in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) but after breaking from post 13, he tired late and settled for third behind accomplished juveniles Rattle N Roll and Double Thunder.

“He's always been a horse that breaks sharp from the gate,” Lynch said. “We knew that going into the debut so it didn't really surprise us he broke on top like he did but it's always a pleasant surprise to see them win that impressively. Last out in the Breeders' Futurity, he was hung wide from the gate and he battled pretty hard on the lead through fast fractions. I thought he gamely held on for third after the field closed in on him. Going into this start I've been trying to get him to relax a little bit in his training. I've worked him behind horses and in company so he doesn't have to be on the engine.”

Joel Rosario has the call on Classic Causeway from the rail.

Trainer Kenny McPeek entered a duo of budding stars in the Kentucky Jockey Club: Phoenix Thoroughbreds' $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) runner-up Tiz the Bomb and Lucky Seven Stable's eye-catching 5 ½-length debut winner Smile Happy.

“Tiz the Bomb was impressive last out at Del Mar after dealing with all of the pre-race incidents in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf,” McPeek said. “He's handled really anything we've thrown at him so far so going back to the dirt shouldn't be a problem for him.”

Brian Hernandez Jr. will have the mount on Tiz the Bomb from post 6. Hernandez rode Smile Happy last out at Keeneland for his victory in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight. Corey Lanerie will ride the Runhappy colt from post 8.

Another undefeated colt that entered the Kentucky Jockey Club is C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's Florida-invader White Abarrio. The Saffie Joseph-trained colt is perfect in his young career from two starts at Gulfstream Park with a 6 ¾-length victory in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight and a four-length front-running score in a first-level allowance at one-mile. Florida-based jockey Edgard Zayas, who rode White Abarrio to his allowance victory, will travel to Churchill Downs for the mount from post 10.

Here's the complete field for the Kentucky Jockey Club from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

  1. Classic Causeway (Rosario, Lynch)
  2. Guntown (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen)
  3. Rich Strike (Rafael Bejarano, Eric Reed)
  4. Texas Red Hot (Julien Leparoux, Randy Morse)
  5. Howling Time (Talamo, Romans)
  6. Tiz the Bomb (Hernandez, McPeek)
  7. Vivar (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox)
  8. Smile Happy (Lanerie, McPeek)
  9. Red Knobs (Ricardo Santana Jr., Romans)
  10. White Abarrio (Zayas, Joseph)
  11. Ready Pursuit (Martin Garcia, Jerry Antonuik)
  12. Ben Diesel (Jon Court, Dallas Stewart)
  13. Mannix (IRE) (Edwin Gonzalez, Mark Casse)
  14. Call Me Midnight (Chris Landeros, Keith Desormeaux)

Wagering is available online at www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

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Modern Games Crosses Juvenile Turf Wire In Front, Greeted By Chorus Of Boos After Wagering Kerfuffle

The Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf may have followed the centerpiece Juvenile on the Del Mar card, but it provided more than enough drama to cap off the first day of the 2021 Breeders' Cup. Modern Games (IRE) was the winner of the race while running for purse money only, while Tiz The Bomb was the winner for parimutuel wagering purposes, a confusing situation which set off frustration from the gathered California crowd.

The full field of 14 had loaded into the gate uneventfully and was waiting for the start when Modern Games grew restless and reared in the one gate, triggering stablemate Albahr (GB) to spook, rear, and fall onto the turf under the gate. Jockey Frankie Dettori, aboard Albahr, managed to extricate himself from the gate without being hurt, as the 2-year-old Charlie Appleby trainee thrashed on the ground. Around the same time, stablemate Modern Games (IRE) under William Buick came out of the adjacent gate. Buick later said that an assistant starter had opened the gate to allow him to escape any injury from Albahr, but that he wasn't sure how many people realized in the moment that his horse had been let out, rather than breaking through the gate.

An unidentified assistant starter was given medical attention for injuries sustained in the incident, according to TVG broadcasters. California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) officials were unable to provide an update on that assistant starter late Friday, or his/her name.

The horses were unloaded and Albahr was extricated from the gate, and Appleby later said the horse seemed to have escaped with minor cuts. While the horses were walking behind the gates awaiting reloading, the public was told Albahr and Modern Games were scratched. Then, an announcement came that Modern Games would run for purse money only.

CHRB officials later explained that two veterinarians standing behind the gate — Dr. Dana Stead and Dr. Chuck Jenkins — saw Modern Games rear and thought the horse hit the back of the gate, and that they believed he subsequently broke through the front gates.

Dr. Jeff Blea, equine medical director for the CHRB, explained that a horse breaking through a gate which has not been opened for the horse can result in a shoulder fracture that may not be detected until the horse began galloping. Such an injury could prove fatal.

CHRB executive director Scott Chaney said that veterinarians radioed to the stewards that Modern Games would be a scratch before the horse had been brought back around behind the gate. The scratch was announced and the horse was taken out of the wagering pools for around four minutes before veterinarians examined Modern Games and spoke with Buick. They concluded the horse had not broken the front gates and was in a fit state to race.

California Horse Racing Board rule 1974(B) states that “if a horse removed from the wagering pool due to a totalizator error or due to any other error, and neither the trainer nor the owner is at fault, the horse shall start in the race as a non-wagering interest for the purse money only and shall be disregarded for pari-mutuel purposes.”

At that point, the stewards could have left the horse scratched, or they could have allowed it to run for purse money only. Chaney said he did not think they could have put the horse back into the pools once it had been out for several minutes.

The stewards later released the following statement about the incident:

Prior to the start of the race, #1 Modern Games (IRE) reared up and hit the back of the gate; #2 Albahr (GB) flipped over and became lodged underneath the starting gate. The scratch of #2 Albahr was relayed to the stewards and that horse was taken out of the wagering pools. Albahr appears uninjured. The veterinary staff then relayed a second scratch of #1 Modern Games (IRE) to the stewards based on initial observation. Upon confirmation that #1 also was to be scratched, the stewards removed the horse from the wagering pools. After further discussion among the regulatory veterinarians at the gate and after further observation of #1 Modern Games, that horse was declared fit and racing sound, and this fact was relayed to the stewards, who pursuant to CHRB rule 1974 allowed the horse to run for purse money only. The CHRB and the Breeders' Cup are reviewing the current veterinary and scratching procedures to ensure that this does not occur going forward.

There is no rule in California requiring that a horse who breaks through a gate is an automatic scratch; rather, that decision is left up to the official veterinarian on the ground.

Buick said later he was unaware his horse ever had been scratched, because he knew the horse had not been injured in the incident. He was asked by veterinarians on the ground what had happened, and after he explained that he was let out of the gate by the starter, his horse was examined and he was reloaded.

“Usually horses get backed out the back of gate and everyone gets reorganized and goes again,” Buick said afterwards. “The stall handler there, he obviously meant well and tried to do the right thing, but he opened the front gate without anyone being ready for it and my horse did what he's taught to do and jumps out. Fortunately he got my message and we pulled up and went around the back. To be honest I was unaware of the situation. The vet team wanted to know what happened, I told them what happened and the guy who opened my gate told them thankfully exactly what he did and what happened there. They had all the information. Maybe there was a bit of confusion and panic back there.”

The horses were reloaded into the gates, and Modern Games sat fifth or sixth early leaders Coinage and Portfolio Company, who set the early pace through the backstretch. Grafton Street was sent after them at the top of the stretch, but Modern Games swung wide and found an extra gear in mid-stretch, drawing clear by 1 1/2 lengths at the wire.

Tiz The Bomb crossed the wire behind Modern Games, with Mackinnon and Grafton Street following. Due to Modern Games' status as “purse money only,” bettors were paid as though Tiz The Bomb had won the race: he returned $17.60, $7.40, and $5.20.

Modern Games returned to the Del Mar grandstand to a loud and persistent wave of boos from 20,536 race attendees who were upset about the wagering situation, creating a strange reception for Buick, Appleby, and Godolphin, who were awarded the trophy.

Modern Games came to the Breeders' Cup off a win in the G3 Sommerville Stakes at Newmarket on Sept. 23, having previously won the Take The Reins Handicap two weeks earlier. He is a 2-year-old son of Dubawi (IRE) out of New Approach (IRE) mare Modern Ideals (GB). He was bred in Ireland by the owner.

The race gave Appleby his fourth Breeders' Cup win. He won the same race in 2018 with Line of Duty.

Horseplayers expressed outrage and confusion at the mix-up online. Chaney attributed the sequence of events, in part, to the fact the race was the last of the day and already had an 18-minute delay as officials waited for the injured assistant starter to be transported by ambulance and for another ambulance to come onto the course to chase the field. The sun was setting by the time the race went off at 5:48 p.m. local time.

Additionally, Chaney pointed out, the current climate with regard to animal welfare probably had veterinarians and officials eager to take every precaution to prevent any kind of equine injury.

“This might be an example of trying too hard,” said Chaney at a press conference Friday night.

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Breeders’ Cup Contenders Work At Churchill Downs Saturday

Following overnight rain in the Louisville area, several Breeders' Cup contenders had their regular training schedules altered Saturday morning because of a “sloppy” track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

However, three World Championships-bound juveniles recorded their final works prior to shipping to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., including Lucky Seven Stable's $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile hope Rattle N Roll, who worked five furlongs in 1:02.40. More than three hours after Rattle N Roll breezed, Dawn and Ike Thrash's $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf contender Turnerloose worked five furlongs in 1:02.20 outside of Donegal Racing's $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf possible Ready to Purrform.

Rattle N Roll, trained by Kenny McPeek and owned by the Louisville-based Mackin family, worked at 5:40 a.m. through early fractions of :13, :25.40, and :37.20. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:16. McPeek had a busy morning with Rattle N Roll breezing at Churchill Downs while Juvenile Turf runner Tiz the Bomb and $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf contender Reina de Mollendo (ARG) were scheduled to work at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Trainer Brad Cox altered the originally-scheduled works of $6 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic top choices Essential Quality and Knicks Go to Sunday along with $2 million Grade 1  Breeders' Cup Distaff contestant Shedaresthedevil.

“I think the track will dry out pretty well (Saturday) afternoon,” Cox said. “These three have an extra day in their schedule compared to Ready to Purrform and Turnerloose.”

Turnerloose and Ready to Purrform worked over the sloppy conditions for Cox at 9 a.m. through early fractions of :12.60, :24.60, and :49. Ready to Purrform needs one defection from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf pre-entries in order to make the field.

All of the local Breeders' Cup hopefuls are scheduled to van to Indianapolis on Monday at noon (all times Eastern) for a 4 p.m. flight.

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Flurry Of Breeders’ Cup Potentials Work At Keeneland Saturday

Seven horses with aspirations to compete in the Nov. 5-6 Breeders' Cup World Championships – including four stakes winners during Keeneland's Fall Stars Weekend on the opening weekend of the Fall Meet – worked over a turf course labeled good Saturday morning at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Peter Brant's Blowout (GB), winner of the Grade 1 First Lady Presented by UK HealthCare and a candidate for the $2 million Grade 1 Maker's Mark Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 6, worked a half-mile on her own in :50.80 for trainer Chad Brown.

Phoenix Thoroughbred III's Tiz the Bomb, winner of the Grade 2 Castle & Key Bourbon and a candidate for the $1 million Grade 1 Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5, worked five furlongs on his own in 1:01.80 for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Also working for McPeek was Arriba Arequipa's Reina de Mollendo (ARG) who covered five furlongs in 1:06.40 on her own in preparation for a possible Filly and Mare Turf start.

Trainer Wesley Ward worked a trio of runners headed by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg's Golden Pal, winner of the Grade 2 Woodford Presented by TVG.

Winner of last fall's Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and a candidate for this year's $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Golden Pal drilled five furlongs in 1:00.80 with splits of :24.20, :37.20, :49, and 1:00.80. (Click here for a video of the work.)

Other Ward workers were Hat Creek Racing's Averly Jane, winner of the Indian Summer Presented by Keeneland Select, and Gregory Kaufman's Kaufymaker, second in the Indian Summer. Working together for possible starts in the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, the undefeated Averly Jane covered five furlongs in 1:03.40 and Kaufymaker went the distance in 1:03.80.

Calumet Farm's Channel Cat, prepping for a possible second start in the $4 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf, worked five furlongs on his own in 1:02.20 with splits of :25.20, :38.60, :50.40 and 1:02.20 for trainer Jack Sisterson.

Three other possible Breeders' Cup runners posted works on the fast main track.

Also working for Calumet and Sisterson was Lexitonian, who covered 5 furlongs in 1:00.60. Winner of the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt two starts back, Lexitonian is a candidate for the $2 million Grade 1 Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Peter Brant's Dunbar Road, runner-up to Letruska in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster, worked a half-mile in :49 for trainer Chad Brown in preparation for a likely third start in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1).

Dare To Dream Stable's American Sanctuary, fourth in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, worked a half-mile in :48.40 for trainer Chris Davis. He is possible for the $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

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