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More Than Ready Gelding Has Last ‘Word’ in Northern Dancer

Say the Word uncorked a last-to-first rally in Sunday’s GI Northern Dancer S. at Woodbine to post a mild upset. The dark bay dropped out the back under Emma-Jayne Wilson as favorite Admiralty Pier did as he pleased up front. He was ridden for more to inch slightly closer heading for the home as stablemate and fellow Sam-Son representative Count Again (Awesome Again) took the first run at the pacesetter. Admiralty Pier and Count Again continued to trade jabs to midstretch, but neither had any response for Say the Word as he blew to the front over the top with Sir Sahib (Fort Larned) mirroring that move to complete the exacta.

“It was perfect actually,” Wilson said of her trip. “The first time I rode him, [trainer Gail Cox] let me know that Junior Alvarado from Saratoga had said that he was funny with his mouth, he could be a little sensitive and to trip him [out] in a certain sort of way. Last time, we got the on -hole going a mile and a quarter, and I just got shuffled back. It took me a bit to just kind of get on the same page with him last time, being as sensitive as he was. I mean, he ran well, he ran third, but he was coming on end.

“So today, I was more confident with him, more ground and I knew where the line was with him for my hands and give and take. He settled for me beautifully; I literally just held the mane for pretty much the first mile and a quarter. Then as I gathered him up, I knew…I just knew. He was gaining on them last time and I just knew when he straightened, he was already in flight and it was going to be tough to beat him.”

Say the Word upended a 1 3/16-mile Saratoga optional claimer Aug. 14 at 51-1 while being offered up for the $62,500 tag. He was most recently third behind Count Again and Sir Sahib in the 10-panel GIII Singspiel S. here Sept. 19. His lone 1 1/2-mile outing came when second in the 2018 Breeders’ S. here while under the tutelage of Graham Motion. Say the Word made two starts for Gail Cox last fall, including a fourth in the GIII Durham Cup on this main track. He was then off the board in a trio of tries for Neil Howard at Fair Grounds, and returned to the Cox barn to be sixth in a local optional claimer June 20.

“I think this horse kind of likes to know the people that he’s with, so he’s not one that’s easy to shift around all the time,” Cox said. “He also loves this turf course and he loved the distance. Last year, he was sent to me and we ran him on the Tapeta, and it was not to his liking.”

The Samuel family’s Sam-Son Farm upped its record win tally in the Northern Dancer to eight Sunday.

Sunday, Woodbine
NORTHERN DANCER TURF S. PRESENTED BY PATTISON-GI, C$340,200, Woodbine, 10-18, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:29.87, gd.
1–SAY THE WORD, 121, g, 5, by More Than Ready
                1st Dam: Danceforthecause, by Giant’s Causeway
                2nd Dam: Dancethruthestorm, by Thunder Gulch
                3rd Dam: Dance Smartly, by Danzig
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. O/B-Sam-Son Farm (ON); T-Gail Cox; J-Emma-Jayne
Wilson. C$216,000. Lifetime Record: 25-5-2-4, $445,292. *1/2
to Rideforthecause (Candy Ride {Arg}), GSW, $291,226. Werk
Nick Rating: B+. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sir Sahib, 121, g, 5, Fort Larned–Xs Belle, by Dynaformer.
O-Stronach Stables; B-Adena Springs (KY); T-Kevin Attard.
C$60,000.
3–Admiralty Pier, 123, g, 5, English Channel–Full Steam Ahead,
by Kitten’s Joy. ($100,000 Ylg ’16 FTSAUG). O-Hoolie Racing
Stable, LLC & Bruce Lunsford; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Barbara
Minshall. C$30,000.
Margins: 1, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 5.80, 5.70, 2.15.
Also Ran: Count Again, Woodbridge, Nakamura, Jungle Fighter, Peace of Ekati. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:

Say the Word is the 25th highest-level winner (92nd graded/group winner) for international sensation More Than Ready) and is out of a Giant’s Causeway mare like MGISW Verrazano. He is one of 26 Grade I/Group 1 winners out of Giant’s Causeway dams. Say the Word’s third dam is none other than legendary Hall of Famer Dance Smartly. This is the extremely productive female family of Smart Strike, Dancethrudawn, et al. Danceforthecause, whose 4-year-old son Rideforthecause was fourth in the GI E.P. Taylor S. two races later on the card, produced a Distorted Humor fily in 2019 and a Street Sense filly this term. She was bred back to Twirling Candy.

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Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings Sale Monday

The Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings Sale returns for its second renewal Monday, moving from its 2019 location in Pomona to Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress for the one-day 2020 edition. The first of 298 catalogued yearlings is scheduled to go through the sales ring at 12 p.m. PT.

With a backdrop of continued uncertainty swirling around the global pandemic and its impact on the economy, consignors are approaching the one-day auction with caution.

“There is a whole lot up in the air, that’s all I can say,” said Tom Bachman, whose Fairview consignment will offer six yearlings Monday. “I think it’s going to be much like most sales where the top 15% will probably sell fairly well, but below that, it’s going to be a tough market.”

Bachman continued, “The real market right now in California is to find a Cal-bred who is perceived to be competitive in open racing, as well as Cal-bred company. If you have something like that, it will sell well. Now sell well may be 70% of what you thought it was going to pay a year ago. But that, in today’s world, is still a horse well-sold.”

Fairview consigned four of the six six-figure yearlings at last year’s California sale. Of the four, three were California-breds by Kentucky sires, including the $150,000 topper by Goldencents. This year, the Fairview consignment includes yearlings by Sky Mesa, Nyquist, Mastery, and Dialed In.

“I’m very happy with the six that I’m bringing down there,” Bachman said. “I have done quite well selling in California, but if there is a fly in the ointment on one of these things, you don’t know how that’s going to be perceived. I think most of the people who buy out here tend to be end-users, as opposed to pinhookers, so that lightens things up a little bit in the repository.”

Pinhookers were active at the auction in 2019, but Bachman fears, with the high number of buy-backs at the Kentucky sales in September, many were able to purchase yearlings post-sale last month and won’t be shopping as hard in California this year.

“There may be some pinhookers as well,” he said. “I have a Nyquist and a Mastery which are the kind of things that are nationally recognized as being in demand. So I think pinhookers will look at what I have. I think if you have a Kentucky-sired Cal-bred where those people perceive there is added value, I think you are ok, if you have a good individual. But it’s going to be tough sledding. If you have a California-sired individual, the pinhookers–last year they didn’t even have a 2-year-old sale out here–and with as many not-solds as there were in September, I can’t imagine the pinhookers don’t have all their slots filled.”

Sue Green’s Woodbridge Farm will offer 18 yearlings during Monday’s auction.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m worried,” Green said. “We watched Fasig and Keeneland and we watched Timonium. OBS was kind of up and down. I think the good horses will sell well. Our consignment has a lot of what I call the blue-collar guys, so we have nice horses who radiograph and scope, but they fall a little short of the big dogs. And I’m worried.”

Owners have only slowly been allowed back at racetracks to watch their horses and the current atmosphere may make them reticent to add to their stables, according to Green.

“My owners who actually race, they aren’t happy,” she said. “It’s not fun right now. They can’t go see their horses, they can barely go watch them run. The guys who are supporting the industry, the owners, aren’t having a lot of fun right now. I don’t know how many people are actually going to come to buy. I hope a lot.”

A potential bright spot at the sale could be the strength of the Cal-bred program.

“The Cal-bred program, with the Golden State stakes series and the maiden bonuses–the fact that the Cal-bred races are pretty much what is holding racing up on its feet right now–that plays in our favor,” Green said. “We are bringing the product and hoping that plays into the mindset of these trainers. To fill their quotas.”

She continued, “We have heard that a lot of trainers didn’t go to Kentucky because they want the Cal-breds and I cling to that hope because we have almost all Cal-breds in our consignment. They are nice, solid horses, but I am worried the cream will rise to the top and those horses will sell well, but there are only so many owners with so much money to go around. It’s a pretty good-sized catalogue, it’s a nice catalogue, but I worry that our middle and lower-end horses will not find homes.”

Due to crowd size limitations in the Los Angeles area, Fasig-Tipton was forced to relocate the auction from Pomona to Los Alamitos this year.

“We are in a parking lot, we are going to make a long trek down to the track and into the saddling paddock and sell horses with clients looking down from above. It’s not optimal at all,” Green said of the new locale. “It is what we had to do to make this happen. Unfortunately, it’s COVID. We are just ready for it to go away.”

Bachman said, “It’s a lot easier to get to Pomona than it is to get to Los Al from Santa Anita, I know that. It’s good that they stepped up and helped Fasig-Tipton so we could have the sale. Otherwise we couldn’t have had one, which would really have been a problem. But at least we have a venue and Fasig is doing the best they can, I’m sure, trying to get business drummed up for the sale.”

Both consignors agreed the yearling sale is a pivotal next step in the California breeding industry’s calendar.

“The yearling sale is going to be a step off into a January mixed sale,” Green said. “This is a step off for people who are looking at their broodmares. If they can’t get fair market value for these yearlings, there is no incentive to breed these mares in 2021. So I think the sale is huge.”

At last year’s California sale, 137 horses sold for $3,667,800. The average was $26,772 and the median was $13,000. With 118 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 46.3%.

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Empire Maker Filly Comes Out Running for Shug

2nd-Belmont, $80,000, Msw, 10-18, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.84, ft, 3 1/2 lengths.
CAFE SOCIETY (f, 2, Empire Maker–Full Tap, by Tapit), let go at 10-1 from a 7-2 morning line for a barn that doesn’t win with many firsters and doesn’t train many 2-year-old sale grads, proved best of a promising-looking group Sunday at Big Sandy. Away alertly to press favored second timer Exact (Competitive Edge) through a :22.67 opening quarter, the bay challenged for the lead through a :46.08 half. She put away that foe by midstretch, and ran up the score to 3 1/2 lengths at the line. Fellow firster Hit the Woah (Vancouver {Aus}) got up for second over the chalk. Cafe Society covered a furlong in :10 flat at the pushed-back OBS April sale. She is the first foal out of a three-time turf sprint winner who sold for $375,000 while carrying Cafe Society at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. Full Tap, who is out of stakes-winning half-sister to MGSW Ventana (Toccet), has a yearling full-brother to Cafe Society who brought just $50,000 at Keeneland September. She visited Nyquist for 2021. Sales history: $135,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $475,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $44,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-Allen Stable, Inc.; B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Claude R. McGaughey III.

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Venetian Harbor Leads Munnings 1-2 in Lexus Raven Run

Venetian Harbor (Munnings) was hustled to the front by Manny Franco and made all the running, holding off Finite (Munnings) by a neck to lead home a one-two finish for her in-form, young sire in the GII Lexus Raven Run S. at Keeneland Saturday.

The bay, favored at 8-5 while seeking her first win since a blowout victory in the GII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita back in February, led the field of eight through early fractions of :23.06 and :46.17, and was traveling nicely as they hit the quarter pole.

She kicked for home with a two-length advantage, but was looking for the wire as GII Golden Rod S. and GII Rachel Alexandra S. heroine Finite came with a menacing rail run in deep stretch. Venetian Harbor had just enough left in the tank to hold on, however, and punch her ticket to next month’s GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

“Our intention was to go to the Breeders’ Cup, but we felt this would be a good opportunity to get a race in her,” winning co-owner Joseph Ciaglia said. “I couldn’t be any happier today.”

He continued, “She’s great out of the gate. She’s tenacious, and that’s what you need to win some races. Gotta be quick out of the gate. Manny [Franco] did a great job getting out of the gate, and that was the key to the win.”

Franco added, “She’s happy when she’s on the lead. She showed it today. She’s a nice filly.”

Venetian Harbor rounded out the bottom half of the exacta in her last three trips to the post behind some heavy hitters. She was second to the mighty Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn May 1, second to Speech (Mr Speaker) in the GI Central Bank Ashland S. July 11 and second behind ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Longines Test S. last time Aug. 8.

Pedigree Notes:

Ashford sire Munnings nabbed the Raven Run exacta with 3-year-old daughters facing each other for the first time. Both Venetian Harbor and Finite are graded stakes winners of 2020 and join other current top sophomore filly and fellow graded winner Bonny South in the Speightstown son’s count of 17 graded winners and 42 black-type winners overall. Interestingly, Finite and Bonny South are both out of Tapit daughters, but Venetian Harbor is out of a daughter of Street Cry (Ire). Like Munnings, the late Street Cry had gotten plenty of good sons, but it was his daughters who really seemed to shine. As a broodmare sire, Street Cry has 77 black-type winners, including last year’s champion older male Vino Rosso (Curlin). Venetian Harbor is the second foal out of her dam, whose only foal since was a colt born this year by Oscar Performance. She was bred back to both Constitution and Speightstown for next term. Venetian Harbor’s fourth dam is Hall of Famer Safely Kept (Horatius), winner of the 1990 GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Saturday, Keeneland
LEXUS RAVEN RUN S.-GII, $200,000, Keeneland, 10-17, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:23.03, ft.
1–VENETIAN HARBOR, 120, f, 3, by Munnings
1st Dam: Sounds of the City, by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Welcome Home, by Dixieland Band
3rd Dam: Safe Return, by Mr. Prospector
($110,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $205,000 RNA 2yo ’19 OBSAPR). O-Ciaglia Racing LLC, Highland Yard LLC, River Oak Farm & Domenic Savides; B-Colts Neck Stables LLC (KY); T-Richard Baltas; J-Manuel Franco. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 7-3-4-0, $503,400. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Finite, 120, f, 3, Munnings–Remit, by Tapit. ($200,000 2yo ’19 EASMAY). O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, Thomas J Reiman, William Dickson & Deborah A Easter; B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen. $40,000.
3–Grand Cru Classe, 118, f, 3, Bernardini–Christmas Lass, by Lemon Drop Kid. ($137,000 Ylg ’18 FTKOCT; $335,000 2yo ’19 EASMAY). O-Speedway Stable LLC; B-Daniel J Burke (KY); T-William I Mott. $20,000.
Margins: NK, HF, NO. Odds: 1.60, 9.40, 20.10.
Also Ran: Reagan’s Edge, Tonalist’s Shape, Secondary Market, Four Graces, Secret Keeper. Scratched: Fair Maiden, Never Forget.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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