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Life Is Good Headlines Star-Studded Saturday of Racing

Holiday weekends are often synonymous with exciting race cards and this Fourth of July weekend is no exception with a dozen graded events on tap Saturday that include some of racing's best. The highlight of the day's action is the return of 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who is making his first start back since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26 in Belmont's GII John A. Nerud S.

A dominant winner of last year's GII Kelso H. and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and this term's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., Life Is Good spent some time at WinStar after his return from Dubai and has been breezing steadily at Belmont for Pletcher since Memorial Day weekend. Flavien Prat climbs aboard the fleet-footed bay for the first time Saturday.

“Flavien has proven he rides really well in any occasion,” said Pletcher, who indicated this race is a prep for the GI Whitney S. “There might be some similarities to Flightline (Tapit) and Life Is Good, but we'll have a talk about the horse a little bit. He's got kind of a quiet touch, so that should suit him well.”

While Life Is Good will certainly be the heavy favorite, there is one member of this five-horse field who could give him a run for his money. Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) kicked off 2022 with a trio of seemingly effortless victories in the GIII Fred Hooper S., GII Gulfstream Park Mile and GI Carter H. He received a 114 Beyer Speed Figure for that win, which trumps Life Is Good's best figure of 110 in the Pegasus. The bay enters this off a third-place finish behind unbeaten sensation Flightline in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Met Mile June 11 and Jose Ortiz takes over the controls from Junior Alvarado, who will be riding for trainer Bill Mott in Kentucky.

The Nerud certainly looks like a match race between these two formidable foes as Repo Rocks (Tapiture), Harvard (Pioneerof the Nile) and War Tocsin (Violence) are overmatched to say the least.

Also on tap at Belmont Saturday is the GIII Dwyer S. for sophomore colts. The regally bred Charge It (Tapit) looks to rebound in this cutback in trip after a poor effort in the GI Kentucky Derby, where he finished 17th. The 'TDN Rising Star' was a green, but good second in the GI Curlin Florida Derby in April and the Run for the Roses may have just been too much too soon. You can count on Pletcher to have the colt ready to roll in this softer spot and his back-to-back bullets on the local training track affirm that. With the colt's regular rider Luis Saez at Churchill Downs for Americanrevolution (Constitution), the Hall of Famer calls on his right-hand man John Velazquez to take over the reins.

Chad Brown has an intriguing runner in the Dwyer in Peter Brant's Nabokov (Uncle Mo). The $775,000 KEESEP buy earned his diploma at this oval when extended to two turns last time in his second start May 15.

Cox Holds Strong Hand at Churchill

Churchill Downs also offers a pair of intriguing graded events and Brad Cox has a strong chance to take both. He sends out Juddmonte homebred Mandaloun (Into Mischief)–who is making his first start since a well-beaten ninth in the G1 Saudi Cup–in the GII Stephen Foster H., a Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' event. The colt was promoted to first via DQ in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Haskell Invitational S. last year and crossed the line first in the GIII Louisiana S. in January. Cox also saddles Caddo River (Hard Spun) off a trio of optional claimer scores.

Olympiad | Coady

That pair face some stiff competition from New York in Olympiad (Speightstown) and Americanrevolution (Constitution). The Bill Mott-trained Olympiad is a perfect four-for-four this season, topped by wins in the GIII Mineshaft S., GII New Orleans Classic and GII Alysheba S. Meanwhile, Americanrevolution, who shares the same connections as Life is Good, looks to return to winning ways. Capturing the GI Cigar Mile Dec. 4, the chestnut spent six months on the shelf and was a disappointing fourth in his return in the track-and-trip Blame S. June 4.

The GII Fleur de Lis S. attracted just five distaffers, but two of them are Grade I winners. Cox sends out Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), whose trio of Grade I wins includes the 2020 GI Kentucky Oaks. The bay was run down last time by this field's other top-level scorer Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) in this venue's GI La Troienne S. May 6. That Stonestreet homebred ran back in the local Shawnee S. June 4, finishing fourth as the heavy favorite behind She's All Wolfe (Magna Graduate).

Sprinters Star at Gulfstream

Female sprinters get a chance to secure a spot in the Breeders' Cup Saturday at Gulfstream in the GII Princess Rooney S., a 'Win and You're In.' Champion Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) won this event last term en route to a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint and she will be heavily favored to defend her title. Winner of the GII Azeri S. earlier this year, the chestnut was third behind champion Letruska (Super Saver) and last-out GI Ogden Phipps S. winner Clairiere (Curlin) in the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 23.

Her biggest competition will come from claim-to-fame Glass Ceiling (Constitution), winner of the GIII Barbare Fritchie S. and GIII Distaff H. The bay enters off a third to Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot) in the GII Bed O'Roses S. June 10.

Male sprinters get a chance at graded glory in Hallandale too in the GIII Smile Sprint S. The race will go through GI Woody Stephens S. winner Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music), who makes his first start since finishing seventh in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen S. Mar. 26.

Delaware & Canada Also Offer Graded Action

Sophomores will be in the spotlight at Delaware Park Saturday with the GIII Delaware Oaks and GIII Kent S. Ruthless S. winner Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner) looks like the one to beat. The bay receives Lasix for the first time off a third-place finish in Aqueduct's GIII Gazelle S. Apr. 9.

The GIII Kent S. features 3-year-old colts on the grass and the likely favorite is Harrell Ventures' Main Event (Bernardini), winner of the Cutler Bay S. He was last seen finishing ninth in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill May 7. He faces Brad Cox runner Tommy Bee (Medaglia d'Oro), who was second in a trio of listed stakes.

Woodbine hosts four graded events Saturday: the GIII Selene S. for 3-year-old fillies, the GIII Marine S. for sophomore colts, the GII Nassau S. for older fillies and mares, and the GII Highlander S. for older male turf sprinters. Jonathan Thomas could win both the sophomore events with Catiche (Arrogate) in the Selene and Fuerteventura (Summer Front) in the Marine.

Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), winner of this venue's GII Bessarabian S., faces SW & MGSP Crystal Cliffs (Fr) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) and GSW Plum Ali (First Samurai) in the Nassau. The Highlander is topped by the Wesley Ward-trained Bound for Nowhere (The Factor), a two-time winner of the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland.

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Feds: Last-Minute HISA Suit An ‘Emergency of Plantiffs’ Own Making’

A federal judge on Thursday opted not to immediately grant the “expedited consideration” restraining order or injunction that opponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) alleged was needed to stave off the “irreparable harm” from “illegal rules” that are set to go into effect at midnight Friday.

But within several hours of learning June 30 that Judge Terry Doughty of U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) had given HISA and other defendants two weeks to file a response to the restraining order motion, the lead plaintiffs from the states of Louisiana and West Virginia made a separate plea to the court, asking for an “immediate” status conference to address “the chaos created by HISA.”

The judge granted that request, and according to the court docket, a telephone conference was to have happened at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, some 6 1/2 hours before the first set of HISA rules was to go into effect. As of 7:30 p.m. Thursday, there were no notations within the docket that the court made any new orders as the result of that status conference.

For details on the new federal lawsuit filed June 29 that seeks to block the HISA rules from going into effect, click here.

“[T]hese issues are extremely urgent,” the plaintiffs stated in the motion requesting the urgent conference. “Plaintiffs face severe and irreparable harm if not granted a temporary restraining order before the legally deficient rules purportedly take effect tomorrow, July 1.”

The Department of Justice, which represents the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), one of the defendants in the case, stated in a June 30 filing that “The FTC Defendants oppose Plaintiffs' requests. The three rules Plaintiffs challenge were approved on [Mar. 3, Mar. 25, and Apr. 1], All three were stipulated to take effect on July 1 by statute. Plaintiffs' eleventh-hour challenge to those rules on the eve of the statutory deadline is therefore an emergency of their own making. Having waited three months to come to Court, Plaintiffs are not entitled to abrogate the two-weeks that the Court has already allotted Defendants for their response briefs.”

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Mor Spirit Sires First Winner At Woodbine

VELOCITOR, a homebred for Ontario's Al & Bill Ulwelling, debuted second after a troubled trip nearly one month ago at Woodbine and returned in a similar spot over five furlongs Thursday as the 8-5 co-choice to give freshman sire Mor Spirit (by Eskendereya) his first winner. Sharp from the gate, he dueled outside of Confusing (More Than Ready) as the pair came away nearly four lengths ahead of the rest of the field. Still separated by just a head around the far turn, Velocitor finally wore down and got the best of his rival as they straightened for home. He made it a one-horse race from there, drawing off uncontested to win by 7 1/2 lengths.

Out of a half-sister to GSW Shakopee Town (Jersey Town), Velocitor has a yearling full-sister in the pipeline.

Mor Spirit, winner of the GI Los Alamitos Futurity at two and the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan H. at four, stands for $5,000 at Spendthrift Farm.

2nd-Woodbine, C$101,430, Msw, 6-30, 2yo, 5f (AWT), :58.55, ft, 7 1/2 lengths.
VELOCITOR (c, 2, Mor Spirit–Polar Plunge {MSW, $287,174}, by Successful Appeal) Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $64,110. O-Ulwelling, Al and Bill; B-Al Ulwelling & Bill Ulwelling (ON); T-Kevin Attard. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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UK Gluck Publishes Phase One of Genetic Diversity Study

The first phase of a research study into the genetic diversity in Thoroughbreds is in the books, with researchers from the University of Kentucky's Gluck Center concluding from the phase one portion that diversity among Thoroughbreds “falls within the range for other breeds of horses” despite centuries of human intervention, according to the Gluck Center.

The study, by the Gluck Center's Ernie Bailey, PhD and Ted Kalbfleisch, PhD,, and Jessica Petersen, PhD, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is based on sequencing the entire genome of Thoroughbred horses, and is published in the Equine Science Review of the University of Kentucky.

According to Dr. Bailey, the completion of their first phase of research in 2021 documents that the diversity among Thoroughbred horses is consistent with that found for other domestic animals and that it falls within the range for other breeds of horses.

In a press release Thursday, the team at Gluck called the study “the most comprehensive analysis of the genetics of the U.S. Thoroughbred to date. Previous studies of Thoroughbred diversity were based on sampling small subsets of the genome,” the release says.

“The goals of the study are to create a database that catalogs the variation across the genome of today's Thoroughbred horses and to generate anonymous (by horse) data that will create a foundation of knowledge for use in monitoring changes in genetic diversity over time,” they write.

During the first phase of the study, 1,000 Thoroughbred samples were collected from horses in Kentucky, California, Florida and New York. Pedigrees of the horses were examined and 120 were selected for whole-genome sequencing to capture as much of the genetic variation of the population as possible. As a result of sequencing these horses, the study aims to create a catalog of 15 million DNA variants among U.S. Thoroughbreds which can be used to monitor future changes in the Thoroughbred population as well as to construct computer models to assess how changes in breeding practices may affect the genetic structure of the population.

The second phase of research, now set to get underway, will be a sequencing project that aims to help protect the breed from deleterious recessive genes. The appearance of variants will be identified, and programs will be used to predict whether those variants might have a potentially negative effect on a gene. Additionally, the team is interested in using part of a survey of the whole breed to get at overall frequencies of genes.

“We can whole genome sequence every animal that is suspected of suffering from a deleterious recessive condition and look for possible causes; if none are proven we can archive the DNA in a database for comparison with future horses that appear with similar disease phenotypes,” Bailey said. “If we wait until a recessive deleterious disease occurs in 1% of the population, then 18% of all Thoroughbreds will already be carriers. This approach allows us to detect such genes before they become so prevalent.”

“Importantly,” the press release concludes, “these data will be publicly available so researchers at other institutions can perform studies of specific traits or genes. The genetic data, and the approach used in generating them, also represent a new tool available for breeders to use in maximizing the genetic potential of each foal and in ensuring the Thoroughbred's status as an elite population of equine athletes.”

Those interested in learning more about the project are invited to contact Dr. Bailey at ebailey@uky.edu. Those interested in supporting this project through financial contributions may contact Danielle Jostes at danielle.jostes@uky.edu.

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