Tag: United Nations

HRI Launches Sustainability Strategy ‘ Racing Towards a Better World’

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) announced the launch of its Sustainability Strategy 2024 'Racing towards a better world'.

The strategy, which supports Ireland's Climate Action Plan and the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, identifies the role HRI will play in the change in sustainability across the organisation, while also providing guidance and support to the industry.

“HRI is committed to fostering an industry-wide culture of sustainability,” said Roger Casey, Chief Financial Officer, HRI. “We also want to support the industry to increase its understanding and delivery of sustainability priorities through practical measures and financial supports where possible. To achieve this, HRI will continuously share our learnings with industry stakeholders. Significant sustainable development funding also needs to be made available nationally and at EU level, and we continue to work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in this regard.”

Victor Quinlan, Capital Projects and Environmental Sustainability Lead, HRI, added, “Under the SEAI Public Sector Partnership Programme, HRI is committed to maximising energy efficiency, improving the environment, and meeting national energy saving obligations. We have made significant progress over recent years and together with our HRI racecourses, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Navan and Tipperary, we report on our energy efficiency and CO2 footprint annually, as we work towards the mandated 2030 public sector targets.”

There is also ongoing progress on several initiatives including education and training programmes through Equuip, HRI's Industry Education and Training department, employee and industry assistance programmes, the launch of a Health, Safety and Well-being Guide for the Industry, increased local community engagement and the achievement of the IBEC KeepWell Mark, an evidence-based accreditation that puts the wellbeing of employees at the forefront of company policy.

To view the complete strategy, click here.

The post HRI Launches Sustainability Strategy ‘ Racing Towards a Better World’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Therapist Upsets United Nations to Score First Grade I Victory at Eight

With the most starts in the field at 41 and the most claims under his girth in the last year with three, Therapist (g, 8, Freud–Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike) may not have appeared to be the one most likely headed back to the barn after Monmouth Park's GI United Nations S. as the winner. But like fine wine, he has improved with age, winning his first graded race earlier this year and adding his first Grade I score in Monmouth's Haskell undercard highlight. Therapist is 8-years-young.

Off at 12-1 in the $600,000 United Nations, Therapist broke cleanly from the inside and settled into a nice midpack spot as 58-1 longshot So High (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) showed the way through early :24.76 and :49.32 quarters. Unhurried, Therapist bided his time until the final turn, where he kicked on wide and rallied down the lane to reel in favored last-out GIII Monmouth S. winner Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who had tracked So High all the way before tackling him in the stretch. Therapist also held off a surging Red Knight (Pure Prize), a fellow older model who has had a resurgence of his own to win the GI Man o' War S. in May. Red Knight, like Therapist, hails from the barn of Michael Maker, who has now won this race three times since 2017.

“He's a really good horse,” said jockey Javier Castellano of the winner. “He's a long-distance horse. He seems to always maintain his rhythm. I knew that horse on the lead was going to stop. I just rode my race. I knew he was going to come back to us. I didn't want to chase him and not have anything left. It's a long distance. You have to have a lot of patience and have a lot of confidence in the horse. It's amazing that he won a Grade I race at 8-years-old. He's just a professional horse.”

Therapist has had a long career, breaking his maiden in 2017–three years before the competitors in the GI Haskell S., the next race on Monmouth's card–were even born. A multiple listed winner at two and winner of several black-type races in the ensuing years, he has clearly improved over time, adding his first graded win in Gulfstream's GII Pan American S. just this April. Last seen finishing second in the Chorleywood Overnight S. at Ellis Park June 17, Therapist was picked up by owner Michael Dubb for $50,000 at Gulfstream in January after he lost a $25,000 shake for him in December.

“I followed this horse throughout his career,” said Dubb, who was winning his third consecutive United Nations, although the last two were in partnership. “I knew the ability he had and that's why I claimed him.

“This is Mike Maker's sweet spot. When we got him the horse hadn't been racing this long and I asked Mike why he wanted to go this long. He said, 'I see it in the breeding.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Therapist is the fifth Grade I winner for New York's veteran star sire, Freud. The 25-year-old Sequel Stallions stalwart, a full-brother to the late Giant's Causeway, has 61 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and 11 graded winners. Freud has three stakes performers out of Smart Strike mares, with two of those being Therapist and his younger full-sister, Fresco. Smart Strike currently sits second on the 2023 list of leading broodmare sires and has 164 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Now 20, Lady Renaissance has been sold since foaling Therapist and Fresco in the Empire State. She brought $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale from Dennis Yokum and was shipped to California. Her most recent produce is Seize the Derby (Carpe Diem), an unraced 3-year-old gelding. Lady Renaissance's lovely extended pedigree includes a granddam who is a half-sister to 1994 Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense), whose influence is still felt today.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $612,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:14.50, fm.
1–THERAPIST, 124, g, 8, by Freud
               1st Dam: Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Artistic, by Pirate's Bounty
                3rd Dam: Paintbrush, by Bold Hour
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($8,000 RNA Ylg '16 SARAUG). O-Michael Dubb; B-Oak Bluff Stable, LLC & C. Clement (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Javier Castellano. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 42-13-5-8, $1,353,815. *Full to Fresco, SW, $125,350. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catnip, 124, g, 4, Kitten's Joy–Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $120,000.
3–Red Knight, 124, g, 9, Pure Prize–Isabel Away, by Skip Away. O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NO. Odds: 12.30, 1.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Limited Liability, Planetario (Brz), Foreign Relations,
So High (GB), Yamato, Kygo (Ger). Scratched: Oceans Map.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .

The post Therapist Upsets United Nations to Score First Grade I Victory at Eight appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Arklow Tries to Fend Off Brown Trio in U.N.

Easily the most accomplished runner in the field with earnings of over $2.75 million–more than his nine opponents combined–7-year-old stalwart Arklow (Arch) will try to make amends for running fourth as a heavy favorite in last year's GI United Nations S. in Saturday's renewal of the 1 3/8-mile test on the Monmouth turf.

Picking up his first stakes win as a 3-year-old in the GII American Turf S. back in 2017, the bay has since added five more black-type scores, including his lone Grade I success thus far in the 2019 GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. at Belmont. Adding blinkers after disappointing in last year's U.N., he has gone three-for-four since, capturing the GIII Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup S., GII Hollywood Turf Cup S. and GIII Louisville S. last out May 15 at Churchill.

A trio of Chad Brown trainees figure to offer the heftiest challenges to the favorite, with the most dangerous of the three appearing to be the speedy Tribhuvan (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}). Spurting out to a clear lead in the GII Fort Marcy S. May 1 at Belmont, he dug in gamely in the stretch to score a 1 1/2-length victory at 10-1. Again blitzing clear in the 1 1/4-mile GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S. there June 5, he held well to be second behind stablemate and turf division leader Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}).

Master Piece (Chi) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), a Group 2 winner in his native Chile, was fourth last fall when making his U.S. debut in the Joe Hirsch and got the winter off before returning with a well-graded allowance score Apr. 16 at Keeneland. He failed to make an impact, however, when sixth in the Manhattan last out.

Rounding out the Brown contingent is Peter Brant's Serve the King (GB) (Kingman {GB}), runner-up in last fall's GIII Monmouth S. and fourth in the same event off the bench June 5.

The post Arklow Tries to Fend Off Brown Trio in U.N. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Jonathan Thomas Seeking Firm Turf For Corelli In Monmouth Stakes

Five starts after getting Corelli, trainer Jonathan Thomas believes he has finally found the key to success for the 6-year-old gelding. At least he hopes he has.

A winner in his 2021 comeback race on April 24 at Pimlico Race Course, Corelli will step up to graded stakes company again when the grass specialist goes in the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, the headliner on Saturday's 12-race card at Monmouth Park.

The 13th running of the $150,000 Monmouth Stakes, scheduled for 1 and 1/8th miles on the grass, has attracted a field of 10 plus two alternates.

“We're really pleased with his comeback race,” said Thomas. “We think we've figured him out. We were probably running him too long last year.

“We've tried to kind of re-invent him and encourage him to show a little more turn of foot while also relaxing early on in races.”

After racing in England for his first 10 career starts, Corelli came into Thomas' care last year. Though winless in four starts in 2020, the son of Point of Entry-Vignette by Diesis did manage to get third in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park at a mile and three-eighths. But that was the extent of his success, with two of his races last year at a mile and three-eighths and one at a mile and a half in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. All were on the turf.

“I thought he ran well in the United Nations,” said Thomas. “He looked like he was running a winning race and then at the eighth pole he was kind of coming up for air a little bit.

“That's not to say we won't run him back in the United Nations at that distance but I get the feeling he is best suited for a mile and an eighth.”

Cut back to a mile and a sixteenth for his first start this year, Corelli rallied to win by a nose in the $100,000 Henry Clark over a firm turf course.

Thomas also found out something else about the Augustin Stable-owned Corelli from the Sword Dancer: He wants nothing to do with a soft turf course. In his last start in England over a soft grass course Corelli finished 15th. In the Sword Dancer he was fifth in the seven-horse field, beaten 18 lengths.

“The turf was very soft for the Sword Dancer that day,” said Thomas. “We learned with this horse that he is not a soft turf horse. He's a big horse. He does not like the soft ground.”

It's something Thomas will keep in mind for today and tomorrow, since rain is in the forecast for both days, though Saturday's is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the 80s.

“We're keeping he weather in the front of our minds,” Thomas said. “We'll have a much better idea on Friday as to what we're doing.”

The field of 10 for the Monmouth Stakes features three horses trained by Chad Brown (Devamani, Serve the King and Tribhuvan) as well as the Todd Pletcher-trainer Winters Back.

First race post time on Saturday is 12:15 p.m. Full card simulcasting of the Belmont Stakes day program will also be available.

The post Jonathan Thomas Seeking Firm Turf For Corelli In Monmouth Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights