Tag: Top News

Munnings’s Shoot It True Strong on Keeneland ‘Rising Star’ Debut

Shoot It True (Munnings) had running on her mind as she flew out of the gate and flew home to a 'TDN Rising Star' debut at Keeneland in the track's first juvenile race of the season.

Jumping outwardly but overwhelming the field right from the bell, Shoot It True rocketed out of the shoot and onto the main with a four-length advantage under a hand ride. Putting up fractions of :21.89 and :45.16 with ease, the heavy 2-5 favorite was cruising as her rivals started coming under rides in an effort to catch the lone filly. Widening her advantage as they swung into the lane, Tyler Gaffalione was under no pressure as the pair came in 7 1/2 lengths best over Strummin (Flameaway), who muscled his way to running room and claimed the runner-up spot.

A $340,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, Shoot It True is the second winner for her dam from three to make the races. To The Moon Alice, a placed half-sister to GII Mother Goose S. winner Unchained Melody (Smart Strike) and the dam of MSP J C's a Legend (Lea), has also produced a yearling colt by Street Sense. She was bred to Speightstown for 2024.

 

2nd-Keeneland, $64,361, Msw, 4-5, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :52.04, ft, 7 1/2 lengths.
SHOOT IT TRUE, f, 2, by Munnings
   1st Dam: To the Moon Alice, by Malibu Moon
   2nd Dam: Love Match, by Partner's Hero
   3rd Dam: For Love Alone, by L'Enjoleur
Sales history: $340,000 Ylg '23 SARAUG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,806. O-Ice Wine Stable and Smart Choice Stable; B-Old Tavern Farm LLC (NY); T-Wesley A. Ward. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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March Economic Indicators; Wagering And Purses Rise While Number Of Races Decline

Wagering on U.S. races, available and paid purses and the average field size, all saw increases to varying degrees, while the number of races declined during the month of March, according to information released by Equibase on Friday.

Total wagering of over $972 million on races during the month represented a 0.99% increase over the same period from 2022, while available purses of $102.8 million were up by 8.41%. The figure of over $98 million for paid purses in March was up 7.55%. However, the total number of race days dropped from 294 to 284 (3.40%) and the number of U.S. races was down from 2,469 in March 2023 to last month's tally of 2,398.

Average field size in March was up over a year ago, however, and checked in at an average of 7.54 runners, an increase of 0.82%. Average daily wagering was up by 4.54% to $3,422,734 and the average available purse number per race day was up 16.79% to $362,067 from the figure of $310,014 in 2022.

For the first quarter of 2024, wagering on U.S. races declined 4.04% to $2.590 billion. Available purse money was up 0.41%, while the paid purse money was down 0.53%. Average daily wagering of $3.44 million was up by 4.75% while the average available purses per race day increased by 14.11% to $354,826.

 

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Dornoch Faces Biggest Test Yet in GI Blue Grass

Saturday's GI Blue Grass S. will be Dornoch's big chance to put away any uncertainty surrounding his true talent. The son of Good Magic beat Blue Grass morning-line favorite Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) last December in the GII Remsen S., but his Chad Brown-trained rival only lost by a nose and has since improved his resume with a definitive win in the GII Risen Star while adding blinkers. Meanwhile Dornoch claimed a scratched-down edition of the GII Fountain of Youth, taking the lead early and breaking away from rivals in the stretch only after changing leads late.

Dornoch has put in front-running performances in each of his last three victories with jockey Luis Saez aboard, but trainer Danny Gargan believes it is only because no one has been able to keep up with the speedy sophomore. Gargan said he hopes that Saturday's Derby prep at Keeneland will be an educational opportunity for Dornoch.

“We'll see what happens, but I'm going to tell [Saez] to break running and I think there will be a couple of horses who are going to come out wanting the lead,” Gargan explained. “We'd like to see him a length or half a length behind them and go around following horses so he's not on the lead the whole way.”

Gargan seems to believe that we may even see a different side of Dornoch if he is given the opportunity to stalk.

“He likes to have horses around him,” he said. “We're not taking him back to last or anything crazy, but we'd like to stalk. If he has competition I wouldn't say he runs any different, but he stays more in the bridle, more focused. We just want him to have some competition and to keep him going.”

Dornoch has put in three works at Palm Meadows since his Fountain of Youth score. In his last work on March 30, the colt went four furlongs in :47.25 (1/35).

“He's pretty talented in all his works,” said Gargan. “He's a really good work horse. We worked him a little stronger last time. We wanted to get a strong work in him because the week before, weather occurred and the track wasn't perfect to our liking. So we decided to get a little stronger work in him and we're happy with how he came out of it.”

Dornoch was originally slated to travel north to Keeneland earlier this week, but bad weather pushed back his arrival to Thursday. The colt was able to get a feel for the track that he broke his maiden on last October early on Friday morning.

Dornoch at Keeneland | Sara Gordon

“I think it ended up working well,” said Gargan. “We kept him [at Palm Meadows] where the weather was good and we were able to train. We didn't really want to get involved in the tornados and the storms or be on the highways when it was going to be that bad. So it worked out. He shipped in and looks great and knock on wood, everything is going good. Now we will just relax and hopefully have a fun day.”

Dornoch will break from post four for Saturday's mile and an eighth contest.

The 11-horse Blue Grass will offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers. Both Sierra Leone and 3-1 second choice Dornoch are expected to already have enough qualifying points with 55 and 60 points, respectively.

The Brad Cox duo of Just A Touch (Justify), who was second to Deterministic (Liam's Map) last time out in the GIII Gotham, and Encino (Nyquist), who makes his dirt debut after a win in the John Battaglia Memorial S. at Turfway Park, both look to add to the competition. The Repole Stable-campaigned, Todd Pletcher-trained Be You (Curlin) also comes in off an eye-catching maiden win at Gulfstream Park that earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Gargan, a native of Lousville, will be searching for his first Grade I win on Saturday in the Blue Grass. He will also be sending out another potential Kentucky Derby-bound son of Good Magic in Society Man for the GII Wood Memorial S.

Ahead of a key stallion-making race, Gargan is hopeful that Dornoch can follow in the footsteps of his older brother, 2023 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage.

“To be a full-brother to the Kentucky Derby winner, if he could win a Grade I too, that's life changing,” said Gargan. “Winning this race would be spectacular. It'd be great for his resume and for his whole family.”

Speaking of Dornoch's family, his dam Puca (Big Brown) just delivered a full-brother to Mage and Dornoch on the eve of opening day of Keeneland's Spring Meet at John Stewart's Resolute Farm.

“Puca, dam of 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Dornoch who is on the road to the Kentucky Derby this Saturday at Keeneland in the Blue Grass Stakes, just gave birth to a massive colt by Good Magic,” John Stewart said in a Tweet. “Little bro will be watching.”

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Belmont Park Redevelopment Proceeds To Demolition Phase

Expected to require four to six months of work, on Friday, Apr. 5 the New York Racing Association, Inc. will embark on the initial stages of the demolition of the current Belmont Park grandstand and clubhouse, the track said in a release Thursday.

To bring down a 1.25 million square foot building will require a host of engineers and experts tasked with deliberately removing usable materials from a building that opened to the public in 1968. A total of 75 percent of the materials will be recycled including concrete, steel, copper and aluminum. NYRA will be processing this material onsite, which will significantly reduce truck traffic and emissions.

Over the last year, NYRA has preserved and stored Belmont's extensive collection of racing artwork, as well as some of its best-known artifacts, such as the track's wrought-iron gates. The Japanese White Pine in the paddock will be surveyed and protected to the greatest extent possible throughout the demolition and construction phases.

Additionally, John Skeaping's bronze statue of Secretariat has been transported to Saratoga Race Course where it will be placed in a public area adjacent to the Walk of Fame through the duration of the project downstate.

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