Tag: Up to the Mark

Auguste Rodin Pretty As a Picture in the BC Turf

Announced as a season-ending target long before such announcements are typically made, the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf proved fertile ground for the Coolmore partners' Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who enjoyed what turned out to be a dream trip beneath Ryan Moore, got through when the real running commenced at the head of the lane and charged to the wire to defeat top U.S. hope Up to the Mark (Not This Time). It was a sixth victory in the mile-and-a-half second-richest race on the card for trainer Aidan O'Brien–three of which have occurred at Santa Anita–and first since Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) took the 2016 renewal at the 'Great Race Place' under a heady ride from Seamie Heffernan. O'Brien now sits on 18 Breeders' Cup winners overall, while Ryan Moore was riding his 14th championship winner.

Sent off the 5-2 chalk on the strength of a season that has included victories in the G1 Derby at Epsom, the G1 Irish Derby and the G1 Irish Champion S., the son of 2017 Filly & Mare Turf runner-up Rhododendron settled in about midfield for the run down the hill, but jinked noticeably to his right when not handling the dirt crossing particularly well. Rebalanced when linking back up with the turf course, he was maneuvered down towards the inside before the field made their way under the wire with a circuit to travel.

Racing with cover on the back of 2022 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic hero Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) as they reached halfway, Auguste Rodin was always moving sweetly and continued to follow the move of the Japanese raider past the half-mile peg and around the turn. When Cristian Demuro opted to let Shahryar drift away from the inside nearing the quarter pole, Moore gladly seized upon the opportunity to allow his mount to creep forward into striking position. Long-time leader Balladeer (Distorted Humor) still held the call after the opening 10 furlongs, but he hung to his right off the final corner and that was all that Moore and Auguste Rodin needed, as they hit the hole under a full head of steam and pinched a break before holding Up to the Mark in the run to the winning post. Shahryar, the son of 2011 Filly & Mare Sprint heroine Dubai Majesty, was a good third to complete a posthumous one-three finish for Deep Impact.

Despite the ease with which he won, the winning ride was far down in the playbook, said Moore.

“Ending up [on] the rail was like Plan F and I had to make the best of the opportunities,” he said. “My horse was getting a bad trip. He won because he's so good, I made the right call to stick to the rail but could have easily not been.

“The race didn't go to plan. The first part of the race was messy as everyone was in each other's way and I didn't really like where I was. All I wanted to do was get the horse to find his rhythm and he got there so quickly and easily and once he got to the front that's all he does. Considering how the race went against him it was probably his best performance. He's vindicated himself now. He had things do against him today and he overcame them.”

Pedigree Notes:

Auguste Rodin's granddam is Halfway To Heaven, purchased by Coolmore out of the 2006 Goffs Orby sale and winner of three top-level contests, including the 2008 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas. The mating that resulted in Auguste Rodin–quite simply a match made in heaven.

Rhododendron was among what became the final book of mares that visited the legendary Deep Impact in 2019 and Auguste Rodin is the second Breeders' Cup winner in three years for the late stallion, joining 2021 Filly & Mare Turf victress Loves Only You (Jpn).

The first foal for his dam, a sister to the globetrotting seven-time Group 1 winner Magical (Ire) and Irish Group 3 winner Flying the Flag (Ire), Auguste Rodin is bred on the same cross over Galileo responsible for English and Irish Oaks heroine Snowfall (Jpn) and G1 English 2000 Guineas hero Saxon Warrior (Jpn)–sire of 2022 Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road (Ire)–in addition to the additional group winners Cantabile (Jpn), Vanquish Run (Jpn), Harajuku (Ire) and Drumroll (Ire).

There is a plethora of black-type under MGSW third dam Cassandra Go, as Halfway to Heaven's Group 3-winning half-sister Theann (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) is the dam of U.S. Grade I winner Photo Call (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and GSW sire Land Force (Ire) (No Nay Never).

Rhododendron's most recent offspring is a Dubawi (Ire) colt foaled Feb. 10.

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
LONGINES BREEDERS' CUP TURF-GI, $3,680,000, Santa Anita, 11-4, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:24.30, fm.
1–AUGUSTE RODIN (IRE), 122, c, 3, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
1st Dam: Rhododendron (Ire) (Hwt. Older Mare-Eng- at 7 – 9 1/2 f., Hwt. Filly-Ire, Hwt. Older Mare-Ire- at 7 – 9 1/2 f., Hwt. Older Mare-Eur- at 7 – 9 1/2 f., G1SW-Fr, MG1SW-Eng, GSW & G1SP-Ire, GISP-USA, $1,786,763), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Halfway To Heaven (Ire), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Cassandra Go (Ire), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
O-Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan P. O'Brien; J-Ryan L. Moore. $2,080,000. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Eng & Ire, 10-7-1-0, $4,958,538. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Up to the Mark, 126, c, 4, Not This Time–Belle's Finale, by Ghostzapper. ($450,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC; B-Ramspring Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $680,000.
3–Shahryar (Jpn), 126, h, 5, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Dubai Majesty, by Essence of Dubai. O-Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.; B-Northern Farm (JPN); T-Hideaki Fujiwara. $360,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.50, 3.40, 25.50.
Also Ran: Gold Phoenix (Ire), King of Steel, Onesto (Ire), War Like Goddess, Mostahdaf (Ire), Balladeer, Adhamo (Ire), Broome (Ire). Scratched: Bolshoi Ballet (Ire), Get Smokin.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Pletcher Breezes Breeders’ Cup Dozen at Keeneland

Trainer Todd Pletcher breezed a remarkable 12 of his intended Breeders' Cup starters at Keeneland on Thursday morning over the main track. 

Heading the dozen was GI Breeders' Cup Classic hopeful Bright Future (Curlin), who arrived in Kentucky this week from Saratoga. He worked five furlongs in 1:01.40. Also working five furlongs for a possible Breeders' Cup start was Charge It (Tapit), who covered the distance in 1:01.20. 

“We originally were going to work all of our Saturday (Nov. 4) horses tomorrow but with rain in the forecast for tomorrow, we moved it up a day,” Pletcher said. “It was a good morning, and I was pleased with all the works. They did what we wanted them to.” 

Among the dozen workers were three Grade I winners from Keeneland's Fall Stars Weekend. 

Coolmore Turf Mile winner Up to the Mark (Not This Time) breezed a half-mile in :50.20 in company with 2022 Coolmore Turf Mile winner Annapolis (War Front); Darley Alcibiades winner Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) worked a half-mile in :49; and Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner and `TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) worked a half-mile in :48.20. 

The remainder of the Pletcher brigade each worked half-miles: `TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) (:49.60), `TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) (:48.40), Life Talk (Gun Runner) (:49), Life's an Audible (Audible) (:50), Noted  (Cairo Prince) (:49.60) and Scalable (Speightstown) (:49.60). 

Pletcher said he planned to give his runners one more work at Keeneland next Thursday or Friday before shipping to Santa Anita on Oct. 28. 

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Not This Time Bumped Up To $150K at Taylor Made for 2024

Not This Time (Giant's Causeway), whose three-time Grade I-winning son Up To the Mark is a leading candidate for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf and Horse of the Year honors, will stand the 2024 breeding season for a fee of $150,000, stands-and-nurses terms, at Taylor Made Stallions. Not This Time stood the 2023 season for $135,000.

The sire of 2022 champion 3-year-old male Epicenter, Not This Time has gone from strength to strength this term, and sits in eighth position on the general sire list with better than $10.4 million in progeny earnings. The 9-year-old stallion has been represented by no fewer than a dozen black-type winners in 2023, topped by Up To the Mark, whose top-level scores have come in Churchill's Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at nine furlongs, the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S. at a mile and a quarter at Belmont Park, and most recently, the Keeneland Turf Mile first off a four-month layoff.

Sibelius earned the first top-level success of his career when proving gamest in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in March. He also established a new track record when winning the Pelican S. at Tampa in 1:08.65 for the six furlongs.

Not This Time has also been represented by graded winners Next, Arzak, Gigante and Cogburn.

As his runners have excelled at the races, so too have his young progeny at public auction. A yearling half-brother to GISW Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) and GSW King Cause (Creative Cause) sold to Jacob West, agent for Robert and Lawana Low, for $1.35 million at Keeneland September and he was represented by another seven-figure horse at Keeneland and a $900,000 yearling at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga.

Champion Knicks Go (Paynter), who has his first weanlings of 2023, will stand for $15,000 S&N, while Idol (Curlin)–the full-brother to Eclipse Award winner Nest–and Tacitus (Tapit) will serve mares at $10,000 S&N.

TAYLOR MADE STALLIONS — 2024

Not This Time (Giant's Causeway)–$150,000

Knicks Go (Paynter)–$15,000

Idol (Curlin)–$10,000

Tacitus (Tapit)–$10,000

Instagrand (Into Mischief)–$7,500

Instilled Regard (Arch)–$7,500

Rowayton (Into Mischief)–$7,500

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The Week In Review: A Weekend Report Card

The next best thing to the Breeders' Cup is a weekend filled with Breeders' Cup preps. That was the story last week as 31 graded stakes races were contested, many of them races that would help shape the fields for the Breeders' Cup races. Who were the big winners? Who were the big losers? Here's our reports card:

Up to the Mark: A+

It had been a depressing year for North American-based turf horses, who lost race after race to European shippers, including some whose credentials were rather modest. Saturday's GI Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland looked like it might be a case of more of the same as the favorite was the Charles Appleby-trained Master of The Seas (Dubawi {Ire}), who was coming off an impressive in the GI Woodbine Mile S. But in Up to the Mark (Not This Time), he was facing the best turf horse in the U.S. Had he been able to beat him handily that would have reaffirmed the message that the European turf horses are light years ahead of the ones based in the U.S. and that the Breeders' Cup turf races would certainly be dominated by shippers from the other side of the Atlantic. It was hardly a dominant performance as Up to the Mark beat Master of The Seas by a nose, but it showed that our very best turf horses can compete with Europe's best. This was the third straight Grade I win for Up to the Mark. If the GI Breeders' Cup Classic is won by an outsider and if Up to the Mark wins his Breeders' Cup race he could be Horse of the Year.

Muth: A

Muth (Good Magic), a $2 million purchase at the OBS March sale, didn't beat the toughest group of horses in Saturday's GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita, but the way he pulled off the victory was impressive and bodes well for his future. In his first two starts, he looked a lot like a precocious, fast horse who would fit best in sprint races. In the mile-and-a-sixteenth American Pharoah, he was relaxed and settled into fourth before launching his bid at the top of the stretch. If Muth is that good, how good is his stablemate, Prince of Monaco (Speightstown)? He beat him decisively when winning the GIII Best Pal S by 4 1/4 lengths.

Idiomatic: A

Yes, Idiomatic (Curlin) had a dream trip in the GI Spinster S. Sunday at Keeneland. And that's the only reason she doesn't get an A +. Florent Geroux managed to get her to the front by 1 1/2 lengths after an opening quarter was run in 24.49. At that point, the race was already over. The lineup that awaits her in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff is tough one, but after the Spinster Idiomatic has to be considered the one to beat. She's won four straight, all stakes and two Grade I's in a row.

Gina Romantica: A-

All that stands between an undefeated season for the Chad Brown-trained In Italian (GB) is Chad Brown. For the second straight race, In Italian went off as a heavy favorite in the GI First Lady S. at Keeneland only to be beaten by a stablemate. This time it was Gina Romantica (Into Mischief). She nailed In Italian by a head at the wire, not an easy thing to do considering that In Italian got the trip she needs, controlling the pace. This race came out of nowhere for Gina Romantica, who increased her best lifetime Beyer by 13 points, from a 92 to a 105. But if she can duplicate the effort in the Breeders' Cup she'll be a horse to watch.

War Like Goddess: A-

What a cool horse. War Like Goddess (English Channel) beat the boys for the second straight year in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Aqueduct. She RNA'd for $1,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale before selling for $30,000 the following year at OBS June. She's now earned $2,495,184 and has won three Grade I's. The competition will get tougher in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, but this was one of the better efforts of her career and showed that she's still at the top of her game at age 6 and more than capable of beating males.

Didia: A-

Few horses have flown under the radar more this year than Didia (Arg) (Orpen). Since arriving here last year from Argentina, she had been beaten only once in five tries and that was when she couldn't catch a loose on the lead Marketsegmentation (American Pharaoh) in the GI New York S. Trainer Ignacio Correas IV gave her four months off after that race and brought her back for Saturday's GII Rodeo Drive S. at Santa Anita. Facing a tough foe in the 3-year-old Anisette (GB) (Atwaad {Ire}), who was undefeated in three U.S. starts, she proved to be clearly the better of the two, winning by 1 3/4 lengths. Correas may not be a household name in the U.S., but he proved what he can do when he won the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff with Blue Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize).

Locked: B+

At first glance, the win by Locked Gun Runner) in the GI Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland doesn't look that impressive. As the 3-5 favorite, he won by just a half length and had to survive a stiff stretch battle from The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso). His Beyer was an 87, a drop off of nine points from his last race. But, breaking from the eight post, he was wide on both turns and lost a ton of ground while The Wine Steward was never more than two paths off the rail.

Timberlake: B+

Brad Cox had Timberlake (Into Mischief) entered in both the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct and the GI Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland and it certainly looks like he made the right call sending the 2-year-old to New York for the Champagne. He was last seen running second in the GI Hopeful S., where the winner, Nutella Fella (Runhappy) got a Beyer figure of only 72. But with Timberlake winning the Champagne by 4 1/4 lengths, that race looks a lot better now. Timberlake probably won't be any better than the fouth choice in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but he proved in the Champagne that he belongs.

Nations Pride: B

No, Charles Appleby isn't perfect. The first three horses he ran over the weekend all got beat. That meant that Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilio {Ire]) was his last hope. Sent to Woodbine for Sunday's GI Canadian International S., he came through with a 2 1/4-length win as the 2-5 favorite. He'll now return to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, where he finished fifth last year at the 5-2 favorite. Didn't beat much in this race, thus his grade.

In Italian: C

In Italian didn't run terribly in the First Lady when beaten by stablemate Gina Romantica, but that's two straight races she has lost as an odds favorite in which she had no real excuse.

Nest: C-

When Nest (Curlin) kicked off her 2023 campaign with a 2 1/4-length win over Clairiere in the GII Shuvee S. it looked like she was well on her way to a possible Eclipse Award. Nothing has gone right since. She was third in the GI Personal Ensign S. and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the Spinster in which she was beaten 11 /4 lengths. A terrific filly who, for whatever reason, didn't have it in her last two starts.

Rebel's Romance: D

Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) won last year's Breeders' Cup Turf, but nothing has gone right for him since. He returned to New York for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic after clipping heels and losing his rider in the GII Bowling Green S. Sent off at 1-2, he showed nothing, finishing fourth.

Fierceness: Incomplete

Considered one of the most impressive maiden winners at Saratoga, where he won by 11 1/4 lengths in the slop, Fierceness (City of Light) was pounded down to 1-2 in the Champagne. This time he didn't show up, losing by 20 1/4 lengths. He had all sorts of problems at the start, where be lunged and then got bumped, and maybe that explains the poor performance. We'll probably see him next at Gulfstream, where he'll have every chance to regroup.

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