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Nominations Open For Sixth Annual TIE Awards

Nominations for the 2021 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (TIEA) opened June 7 and will close Monday, Aug. 2.

Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin is the principal sponsor of the awards in association with The Jockey Club, the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA), the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) and Breeders' Cup. Godolphin sponsors the Stud and Stable Staff Awards in England, Ireland, France and Australia.

While the 2020 TIE Awards ceremony took place virtually, a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year's ceremonies are planned as an in-person event in October hosted by Keeneland. Jill Byrne will serve as the master of ceremonies.

This year's award categories will reflect a few changes. First, there will now be one overall “Leadership Award,” combining the previously separated leadership awards in both breeding and racing. Second, a new category, the “Support Services Award,” has been added to reward an individual who works in any non-administrative, support service role in the Thoroughbred industry. Eligible candidates for this award include, but are not limited to: sales positions; auctioneers; gardeners; veterinary practices; farriers; starting gate crew; horse transport; grounds staff at sales companies, farms or racetracks; valets; horse dentists; physiotherapists; etc.

Churchill Downs, Hallway Feeds, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, I Am Horse Racing, along with Keeneland, will each be sponsoring an award this year.

This year's TIE Awards will offer total prize money of $122,000. The awards will be held in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion Friday, Oct. 15. For more information and to nominate online, please visit www.tiea.org.

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Louisiana-bred Picks Up Pieces to Stay Unbeaten in Jersey Girl

GI Belmont S.-winning conditioner Brad Cox grabbed one more stakes win for the road Sunday as unbeaten Australasia rallied past rivals to earn a first black-type victory out of Louisiana-bred company. An 8 1/4-length MSW winner at Fair Grounds last November, the dark bay reeled off a pair of dominant stakes scores at Delta Downs before annexing the two-turn Crescent City Oaks back in NOLA Mar. 20. She picked up another big check when shortening up for a GI Kentucky Oaks day allowance at Churchill Apr. 30, but was facing four talented foes who each owned a recent figure edge over her.

Australasia caboosed the field early after a brief delay when favorite Miss Brazil broke through the gate. Bella Sofia clicked off splits of :22.55 and :45.68 and the chalk challenged that one in upper stretch as Australasia still had work to do out wide. It still looked like it'd be one of those two to midstretch, but Australasia soon caught the eye and came flying with a well-timed ride to score by a widening margin.

“She broke good and Brad told me to take my time with her,” said winning rider Joel Rosario. “I had to tip her out a little bit and she came with a nice run at the end.

“She covered a lot of ground and was able to get there. For a second, I was worried they had gotten away from me and I wasn't going to be able to get there, but she did it. It was a very good performance.”

Cox added, “Her last two works gave me the confidence to nominate her. Her last two works were phenomenal, not that she's ever been a bad work horse. It worked out. Joel did a great job, saved some gas and let her roll down the lane.

“I'm not sure she's a six-furlong horse. I think things have to set up for her to win going three-quarters. I think she's more like middle distance. I was uncertain she'd be able to compete outside the Louisiana-bred company. Obviously, she won the open '1X' last time but at the stake level, when you cross the Hudson, the water gets deep. She was able to swim though, so I was proud of her.”

As for whether the GI Longines Test S. at Saratoga Aug. 7 could be on the agenda, the Eclipse-winning conditioner said, “Maybe. That could be a race where things could set up for her too.”

The winner, who breezed in :10 1/5 last year at OBSAPR, is out of a half-sister to GSW High Strike Zone (Smart Strike). She has a 2-year-old half-sister named I Have a Deal (El Deal)–who brought $17,000 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic–and a yearling half-sister named Tap Iron Fist (Iron Fist). Her dam most recently visited One Liner.

JERSEY GIRL S., $145,500, Belmont, 6-6, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:09.19, ft.
1–AUSTRALASIA, 120, f, 3, by Sky Kingdom
                1st Dam: Ayala Strand, by Tiznow
                2nd Dam: Danzig Island, by Danzig
                3rd Dam: Angel Island, by Cougar II
($13,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP; $130,000 2yo '20 OBSAPR).
O-Magnifico Stable; B-J. Adcock & Hume Wornall (LA); T-Brad
Cox; J-Joel Rosario. $82,500. Lifetime Record: 6-6-0-0,
$320,388.
2–Bella Sofia, 118, f, 3, Awesome Patriot–Love Contract, by
Consolidator. ($20,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN). O-Michael Imperio,
Vincent S. Scuderi, Sofia Soares, Gabrielle Farm, Mazel Stable
Partners, LLC & Matthew J. Mercurio; B-Two Tone Farms (KY);
T-Rudy R. Rodriguez. $30,000.
3–Miss Brazil, 120, f, 3, Palace Malice–Baytree, by Forestry.
($170,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Team D & Madaket Stables LLC;
B-Haymarket Farm LLC (KY); T-Anthony W. Dutrow. $18,000.
Margins: 1, HD, 6 3/4. Odds: 4.30, 3.10, 0.90.
Also Ran: Decade, Dr B. Scratched: Shop Girl.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Bullet Work for Quality Road Colt at OBS Sunday

A colt by Quality Road (hip 856) turned in the fastest furlong work of Sunday's final session of the under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds when he became the third juvenile of the show to work in :9 4/5. The bay is consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales, agent, on behalf of breeders Fred Hertrich, III and John Fielding.

“He's been fast all year and I thought he'd go fast today. He held up his end of the bargain,” said consignor Kevin McKathan.

The colt, who RNA'd for $100,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, is out of graded-placed Tulira's Star (Congrats), a half-sister to graded winner Mountain General (Mountain Cat).

“He is a really, really pretty colt,” McKathan said of the youngster. “He's medium-sized, which I think you get with a Quality Road. But he's a really pretty horse on the end of the shank. He looks plenty fast and hopefully the pedigree will carry him on out.”

Three horses shared Sunday's fastest quarter-mile work of :20 4/5.

A colt by Quality Road (hip 816) out of stakes winner Surfside Tiara (Scat Daddy) worked in :20 4/5 for de Meric Sales. Bred by Bridlewood Farm, the bay worked a furlong in :10 flat before RNA'ing for $400,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in March.

A colt by Distorted Humor (hip 827) worked in :20 4/5 for Top Line Sales. The bay is out of stakes-placed Tally Ho Dixie (Dixieland Band) and is a half to stakes winner and graded placed Kyriaki (Scat Daddy). Purchased by Phantom Bloodstock for $80,000 at last year's Keeneland January sale, the juvenile RNA'd for $95,000 following a :10 2/5 work at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale.

A son of first-crop sire Practical Joke (hip 835) worked in :20 4/5 for Wavertree Stables. Out of Tessie Flip (Grand Slam), the dark bay is a half-brother to stakes winner and graded placed Jo Jo Air (Scat Daddy). He was purchased by Ron Fein's Superfine Farms for $225,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Through five sessions, three horses shared the fastest furlong breeze time of :9 4/5. A filly by Shackleford turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of :20 3/5 and four shared the second fastest quarter-mile time of :20 4/5. A filly by Neolithic (hip 344) turned in the week's fastest three-furlong drill of :32 4/5.

“As usual this track is tougher later in the day,” McKathan said of conditions during the week. “As it heats up, it gets a little tougher to get over. But I do think that it helped to shorten the days and get started earlier. It felt fair, as fair as they could be. Obviously, if you're going out in the first set, you felt better about it then leading them out there in the end. But really, horses were breezing well throughout the day, so it was hard to gripe too much about it.”

The June sale brings the curtain down on what has been a very strong 2-year-old sales season.

“I think all of the sales have been so competitive, it feels like a lot of people are still unable to get the top-quality horses anyway,” McKathan said. “You had to get in there and really fight for them. I think, as always, the higher-end horses will be well shopped and then hopefully, the market holds right through. I think it's been a great year and everyone has been kind of excited to get back at it or at least get everything back on a regular time frame. We are hoping to get that middle market held up better here, we'll see what we get. But I believe the market will be good.”

The OBS June sale will be held Wednesday through Friday. Bidding begins each day at 10:30 a.m.

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Essential Quality ‘Looks Amazing’ After Belmont; Cox Eyes Travers

Essential Quality (Tapit) got great marks from trainer Brad Cox the morning after the colt triumphed in a strong renewal of the GI Belmont S., and Cox said the Godolphin homebred will be pointed next to the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 28 at Saratoga. The Belmont victory marked the first Grade I win as a sophomore for last year's champion 2-year-old male and offered a measure of redemption for the gray, who was the beaten favorite when fourth in last month's GI Kentucky Derby, his first career defeat.

“He looks amazing. It doesn't look like he lost any weight. We jogged him up this morning and he was moving great,” Cox told the NYRA notes team Sunday. “He's a very intelligent horse. It's amazing to watch him. We train him on race day and whenever we put him back in, he'll lay down the rest of the day. He knows what's going on and he deserves a good rest today after such a long race yesterday.”

Rallying past stubborn pacesetter Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the final sixteenth of Saturday's $1.5-million Belmont, Essential Quality earned a career-best 109 Beyer and stopped the timer in 2:27.11 for the 1 1/2 miles, the third-fastest Belmont clocking this century, behind only American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile)'s 2:26.65 in 2015 and Point Given (Thunder Gulch)'s 2:26.56 in 2001.

In addition to the Travers, Cox said Essential Quality could start in the GII Jim Dandy S. July 31 at the Spa.

“It's one of the more prestigious races out there for 3-year-old colts. So that would be the logical spot,” Cox said of the Travers. “It's a mile and a quarter and we know he can handle that. In regard to a race before, it would be nice. Saratoga is obviously a demanding track. I wouldn't say we have to have a race before that, but it would be nice. I think the logical spot would be the Jim Dandy, but we'll get him back to Churchill and let him tell us over the next couple of weeks how he's feeling.”

Hot Rod Charlie, who ran valiantly to be a clear second in the Belmont after setting a scorching early pace of:22.78 and :46.49, also came out of his effort well, according to trainer Doug O'Neill.

“He looks awesome, just awesome,” said O'Neill before jetting back to his Southern California base. “He ate up everything and licked his feed tub. We scoped him after the race, and he scoped clean. He was definitely a little rubber-legged after the race, but by the time he got back to the barn area he had already recovered. He recovered quickly. He's amazing. He's so dappled, it's unbelievable. His coat is still beautiful. He's full of energy and is just great this morning.”

O'Neill added that a run in the Travers would likely be on the agenda for his charge as well.

“I think that's very logical,” he said. “The great thing about this group of guys [owners Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, William Strauss and Gainesway Stable] is that they're so patient. I'm sure we'll talk about that in the next week or two, but just knowing the way this journey has played out, and hopefully, there are plenty more chapters in the Charlie tale, we probably won't decide for another three weeks or so. But it is the most logical next spot. If he takes us there.”

O'Neill also told the Santa Anita notes team that a start against elders in the GI TVG Pacific Classic Aug. 21 at Del Mar is under consideration.

“As a 3-year-old, we'd get a big break in the weights and a few of our owners live down there,” he said.

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