Tag: Top News

Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner White Abarrio Training Up to Saudi Cup

Horse of the Year candidate and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day) will kick off his 5-year-old campaign in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Feb. 24. A subsequent start in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Mar. 30 could be in the cards as well.

The Rick Dutrow, Jr.-trained C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable, LLC colorbearer has breezed three times at Santa Anita since Christmas Eve, including a five-furlong move in 1:00.40 (9/58) Jan. 8.

“He's gonna go over (to Saudi Arabia) from Santa Anita basically 10 days before,” C2 Racing Stable's Mark Cornett said. “That's when the plane goes over there from Miami. So, he'll fly into Miami from L.A., then he'll get on the flight with the rest of the horses from the U.S. going over to Riyadh.”

Cornett continued, “He's on his game, I'll tell you that. We backed off him a little bit (after the Classic). He's been working very good. They're easy works, nothing serious yet. The horse is such a good work horse.”

The Saudi Cup will be White Abarrio's first start since concluding his 2023 season with a powerful win as the 5-2 favorite in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Nov. 4. The longshot runner-up that day Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) could potentially return for a rematch in the Saudi Cup.

Was a prep race–i.e., the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream Park Jan. 27–ever in play for White Abarrio before heading to the Middle East?

“Not really,” Cornett replied. “The timing, I don't understand why the Pegasus doesn't move their race and give you some more time to the Saudi Cup. It just isn't enough time with flying and everything else. You can't justify going to that race when you've got $20 million on the table.”

C2 Racing Stable's Mark Cornett (center) | Benoit

White Abarrio's seven-career victories have come at six different distances ranging between 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. The 1 1/8-mile distance of the Saudi Cup is contested around one turn. The handsome gray's resume includes two wins at the Saudi Cup distance, albeit both around two turns, in the 2022 GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park and last summer's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga.

“We think that's gonna be what he really wants to do,” Cornett said. “He can do pretty much everything–he can sprint, he can go seven furlongs, he can go a one-turn mile, he can go 1 1/4 miles, etc. The one-turn 1 1/8 miles could be his absolute best.”

As for the appeal of the Saudi Cup, Cornett continued, “It's the distance and the purse money. It's those two factors and you combine them. Plus, it leaves the door open for the Dubai World Cup. It's possible. Obviously, we would be over there already. But the horse has to come out of the race the right way. He has to run the right way, too. If he has to run too hard, we'll pass and get him back over here and get him ready for the Saratoga meet.”

In addition to a runaway win in the Whitney with a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 110 and a decisive victory in the headliner at the Championships three months later, White Abarrio's 2023 season also featured a better-than-it-looked third-place finish after stumbling at the start in the prestigious GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. at Belmont Park June 10. Previously campaigned by Saffie Joseph, Jr., White Abarrio was transferred to Dutrow prior to the Met Mile.

White Abarrio is a finalist for champion older dirt male at the upcoming 53rd Eclipse Awards to be held at The Breakers Palm Beach Jan. 25. Horse of the Year finalists won't be announced until that evening.

“It's nice to be in the conversation,” Cornett said. “In my opinion, he won the two most prestigious route dirt races in the U.S.– the Whitney and the Breeders' Cup Classic. Obviously, he doesn't have the storyline of a Cody's Wish. But it just depends how much the voters are gonna factor that into the equation.”

Cornett concluded, “We're not in it to win these things. We're in it to manage the horse the right way. Things that are out of our control, whatever happens, we're ok with that.”

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Saratoga Special Winner Rhyme Schemes Aiming for Late Spring/Early Summer Return

Rhyme Schemes (c, 3, Ghostzapper–Katherine, by Distorted Humor), sidelined since posting a jaw-dropping, 9 1/2-length victory for trainer Norm Casse in last summer's GII Saratoga Special S. Aug. 12, is being aimed at a late spring/early summer return to the races.

The Pura Vida Investments LLC colorbearer is currently laid up with Gabriel “Spider” Duignan at Springhouse Farm in Kentucky and could resume light training in March.

“He's doing great,” Pura Vida's managing partner Deuce Greathouse said. “He wasn't going to make the Derby preps, so we decided to give him some extra time. We'll have him ready by late spring/early summer if we have no hiccups.”

He added, “He needed plenty of time, but it wasn't something that should hinder him going forward. He's got a really good mind on him, so he's been a good patient. Knock wood, everything has gone to plan to this point. I don't want to jinx anything, but he's on schedule.”

A well-beaten sixth in a live maiden special weight on debut at Churchill Downs May 18, Rhyme Schemes won his next two starts with the addition of blinkers by a combined margin of 19 lengths. He was a daylight, front-running winner with a gaudy 94 Beyer Speed Figure at second asking at Ellis June 15, then showed a different dimension by rallying powerfully from fourth after bumping with a rival at the start in the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga Special.

“We'll let him tell us when he's ready,” Greathouse said. “We'll probably just give him an a-other-than (allowance), and if that goes to plan, then look at stakes.”

Rhyme Schemes, one of 54 graded stakes winners worldwide for Ghostzapper, brought $210,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. He is the second foal out of the winning Distorted Humor mare and $575,000 OBS April breezer Katherine, who hails from the extended female family of GISWs Dream Rush (Wild Rush), Dreaming of Julia (A. P. Indy), Malathaat (Curlin), et al. The Ghostzapper x Distorted Humor cross is also responsible for GISWs Guarana and Molly Morgan. Rhyme Schemes was bred in Kentucky by Parks Investment Group, LLC.

“He's such a cool horse,” Greathouse said. “With his pedigree to go long, and as deep as that family is, we couldn't be more excited. Now, we just gotta keep our fingers crossed and hope that he comes back the same horse that he was. Physically, there's no reason for me to think that he's one of those early 2-year-olds that won't develop into a 3-year-old.”

Greathouse concluded, “It was obviously heartbreaking not getting to go to those big races at the end of his 2-year-old-year. Hopefully, it's for bigger and better things down the road.”

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Vino Rosso’s Tuscan Sky Airs At First Asking at the Big A

1st-Aqueduct, $80,000, Msw, 1-13, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.51, my, 5 1/4 lengths.
TUSCAN SKY (c, 3, Vino Rosso–South Andros {SW, $207,125}, by Sky Mesa), a clear 7-2 second choice on debut taking on the three-start maiden, but 3-4 chalk Have You Heard (Hard Spun), found his best stride entering the final furlong and streaked home to open his account impressively at first asking in the Saturday opener from Aqueduct. Tuscan Sky won the break and took his four rivals along through the opening furlong, but Have You Heard wrested command before the half-mile marker as the debuting Ambition (Street Sense) tried to press the pace around the turn. Tuscan Sky traveled with a bit of a high head carriage down the backstretch and was third into the turn, but didn't look to be loving the rain-affected conditions under foot and was one-paced three wide nearing the stretch. But produced wide into the lane by Manny Franco, the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton July purchase jumped into the bridle and quickened up nicely to report home by a convincing 5 1/4 lengths. Sierra Farm acquired the stakes-winning South Andros for $85,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale and the mare is best know as the dam of Private Creed (Jimmy Creed), GSW & GISP, $1,329,166, third in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and victorious in last year's GII Franklin-Simpson S. at Kentucky Downs. A half-sister to SW Lunar Mist (Malibu Moon), South Andros foaled a Complexity colt in 2022 and a full-brother to Private Creed last year before visiting Jackie's Warrior. Sales history: $200,000 Ylg '22 FTKJUL. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $44,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Sierra Farm (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher.

 

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Trouble In (Turf) Paradise: Sale Again Called Off, ’24 Meet Still Planned

For the second time in four months, a reported sale of Turf Paradise has been called off.

The track's current owner, Jerry Simms, broke the news at Friday's Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting without disclosing details or being pressed by regulators to provide any additional information.

Preparations for a planned Jan. 29-May 4 race meet are still underway, though, according to testimony from track officials, commission employees, and representatives of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA).

The revelation that the deal was a no-go didn't seem to come as a shock to commissioners or stakeholders.

Specifics of the transaction had been shrouded in mystery and tinged with dysfunction since the outset.

At AZRC meetings in recent months, horsemen had expressed skepticism, frustration and even derision over whether Simms was working in good faith to make the sale. They had also alleged they were being kept out of the loop on key details about the future of the state's lone remaining commercial Thoroughbred track.

Simms had repeatedly denied those accusations. But it's no secret that Simms and Arizona horsemen have had an acrimonious business relationship for the better part of two decades.

Perhaps what was most bizarre about the Jan. 12 no-sale disclosure was the non-reaction from almost everyone else.

No commissioners asked Simms to elaborate on the failed deal, and when AZHBPA representatives were given their turn at the microphone to comment, they chose not to utter anything about the called-off sale. Instead they waxed glowingly about how well work for the coming race meet was progressing under Simms's stewardship.

The dialogue unfolded like this:

Friday's meeting had progressed about 35 minutes without any mention of the proposed sale, which was unusual considering the deal had previously been a focal point of discussion.

Back on Dec. 5, the AZRC had conditionally approved the '24 meet for Turf Paradise, which was to be conducted by Simms as he attempted to close on a sale of the 213-acre property to an entity known as Turf Paradise Land Trust.

On Friday, Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia was winding up comments about the work being completed in preparation for the meet when commissioner Linda York interjected to ask about an update on the sale, which Francia had not mentioned.

“Mr. Simms would be the one to provide an update to the commission,” Francia deferred, claiming that he didn't know if Simms was remotely listening in to the meeting to be able to comment. He offered to pass along a message to Simms, though.

A few moments later, Simms chimed in, claiming phone difficulties had at first prevented him from speaking.

Simms then took a few minutes to rail about an old feud over off-track-betting (OTB) with the now-defunct Arizona Downs, during which AZRC chairman Chuck Coolidge stepped in, asking him to stick to the current topic.

Simms continued his rant for a bit longer, then switched subjects.

“Commissioner York, right now, regarding your question about a sale? Right now there is no sale under contract. There is no deal. The deal was there before. The people never put up their money, and it just didn't happen.”

No commissioners asked why, what transpired, or what the falling-through of the deal meant for the future of Turf Paradise.

Instead, after a pause of several seconds chairman Coolidge just moved on to the next agenda item like nothing significant had just occurred.

Soon after, J. Lloyd Yother, the president of the AZHBPA, declined an opportunity to offer any sort of report when called upon to speak.

Yother deferred his time at the microphone to Leroy Gessmann, the AZHBPA's executive director, who said the Turf Paradise projects “are going slow, but they are moving forward….The racetrack, in the nine years that I've been here, is the best condition it's ever been in. For the first time in nine years, it was done properly [and] I want to thank Turf Paradise for getting a safe racetrack.”

Only later, during the public commentary portion of the meeting, did anyone briefly address the fall-through of the sale.

“That track is really not for sale,” said Stephen Nolan, a frequent critic of both Simms and the AZRC. “It's an illusion. A delusion that [Simms] is trying to portray. He won. He got his OTBs. He collects that money. He puts nothing back into the industry. That's obvious [by the condition of the property]. We need [the commission] to be proactive.”

In recent years, disagreements between the Arizona racing community and Simms have roiled in the courts and at AZRC meetings. Prolonged fights over OTB privileges, simulcast signals, and how the horsemen's purse money can be used have all been topics of heated debate.

Turf Paradise ended its most recent season in May 2023 with a different buyer doing due diligence to purchase the property. At the time, Simms said he wanted to retire to spend more time with his grandchildren.

On Aug. 1, Simms announced Turf Paradise wouldn't be opening in November as scheduled for its traditional six-month meet.

On Sept. 18, the months-long purported sale with the first buyer was publicly declared dead.

Ten days later, Simms announced a new buyer had suddenly emerged.

The AZRC met on Sept. 28 and Oct. 12 without anyone from the new prospective buying group coming forward to speak.

But during the Nov. 9 meeting, Simms introduced a representative from Turf Paradise Land Trust while claiming the two parties were at the escrow stage of a deal. AZRC staffers indicated that a vetting process to license the new ownership group was underway, but noted that process could take months to complete.

Despite their stated misgivings about Simms and the sale, on Nov. 10 the AZHBPA board of directors voted to extend required interstate simulcasting permissions so Turf Paradise's 37 off-track betting parlors wouldn't go dark and could instead keep generating revenue for purses at the upcoming meet.

During the Dec. 5 AZRC meeting at which Turf Paradise was green-lighted for racing in '24, Simms said the sale had hit snags, but he did not elaborate on them or indicate the deal was in jeopardy.

Now fast-forward to the Jan. 12 meeting. During the tail end of the public commentary session, Simms asked for and was granted a second turn to speak.

But instead of clarifying aspects about the future of Turf Paradise, Simms only made the overall situation more cryptic by underscoring that he wanted to move on from running the racetrack.

“You know, when I get a permit to run a track for three years, it doesn't mean I have to run three years if I want to retire,” Simms said. “If a doctor gets a license to practice medicine for five years, and after three years he wants to retire, he doesn't have to practice the entire five years…

“I want this industry to flourish. But I want to retire. And I'm allowed to retire. I feel badly for trainers that need a place to run. But at a certain age, I want to retire,” Simms said.

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