Violence | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘New’ Year, Same Story in Sham

Already with a record seven GIII Sham S. trophies, including the two prior runnings and three of the last four, trainer Bob Baffert and the ever-present ownership group nicknamed The Avengers celebrated another big score Saturday at Santa Anita with front-running Newgrange (Violence). The handsome dark bay earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for a 1 1/2-length debut tally at Del Mar Nov. 28 over pricey and highly regarded Got Thunder (Arrogate), who was second to newly minted Avengers-owned 'TDN Rising Star' Wharton (Candy Ride {Arg}) Friday afternoon.

Away as the third choice at 5-2 behind GIII Nashua S.-winning stablemate Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro) and surprisingly well-backed GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf third Mackinnon (American Pharoah), Newgrange broke in concert with Rockefeller before taking a narrow edge into the first turn under Hall of Famer John Velazquez. He cruised along at a comfortable tempo through splits of :24.46 and :48.94, and was given his cue to quicken near the 3/8 pole. Rockefeller couldn't keep pace, and Mackinnon tried to get going over the unfamiliar surface, but nobody was getting to Newgrange as he floated under the line an 2 3/4-length winner. Rockefeller narrowly held second from late-running GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile fifth Oviatt Class (Bernardini).

“There was one speed, the other Bob Baffert horse (Rockefeller) and I'm pretty sure he didn't want them in a head and head,” Velazquez said. “He told me to put my horse on the lead. Once my horse got to the lead he waited. I took a little hold of him and he kind of started waiting for the horses, so I started waiting for the horses to come to him, by the time we got to the backside I kind of let him do his own thing. I let him get in a comfortable rhythm, after that it was pretty easy though.

“He's so green, he feels like he got on by himself, he was waiting for horses so, I had to give him a little reminder to keep his mind on running and his gallop out was pretty good so it still seems like he's learning.”

A version of this same ownership group spearheaded by SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables took the 2020 running of the Sham with eventual GI Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief).

“He looked good,” Baffert said of Newgrange. “He had been training really well and working together with Rockefeller. The quality is there. I'm happy we have a great team and we are moving forward with him. I thought Rockefeller would be a little closer. We'll have to figure things out on where the two go from here.”

Saturday, Santa Anita
SHAM S.-GIII, $100,000, Santa Anita, 1-1, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.32, ft.
1–NEWGRANGE, 120, c, 3, by Violence
1st Dam: Bella Chianti, by Empire Maker
2nd Dam: Bella Chiarra, by Phone Trick
3rd Dam: Bannockburn, by Count Brook
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($125,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, SF
Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Stonestreet
Stables LLC, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan,
Robert E Masterson & Jay A Schoenfarber; B-Jack Mandato &
Black Rock Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-John R
Velazquez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $102,000. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating:
A+.
2–Rockefeller, 124, c, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Dance to Bristol, by
Speightstown. ($750,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Golconda Stable,
Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight
Racing, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Waves Edge Capital LLC,
Catherine Donovan, Robert E Masterson & Jay A Schoenfarber;
B-Colts Neck Stables LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $20,000.
3–Oviatt Class, 120, c, 3, Bernardini–Occasionally, by Tiznow.
($37,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $60,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-James E
Downey; B-Godolphin & Morgan's Ford Farm (VA); T-J Keith
Desormeaux. $12,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, NO, 3/4. Odds: 2.70, 1.50, 4.20.
Also Ran: Mackinnon, Degree of Risk. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
The second-least-expensive of 28 colts purchased for a combined $11,250,000 ($401,786 average) by the Avengers at the 2020 Keeneland September sale, Newgrange becomes Violence's 13th graded stakes winner. The Avengers have also shown an affinity for, and had significant success with, sire Empire Maker. The excellent broodmare sire influence is responsible for 30 graded winners, including 2021 GISWs Silver State (Hard Spun), Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}). The winner's unraced dam is a daughter of Grade II winner Bella Chiarra (Phone Trick). She produced another Violence colt last April before being bred to War of Will.

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Baffert Duo Headline Field of Five for Sham

With only a field of five newly turned 3-year-olds signed on, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert will saddle a pair of imposing runners in Saturday's GIII Sham S. going a two-turn mile at Santa Anita.

Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro) returns to the West Coast for Baffert after securing a front-running victory in Belmont's one-turn mile GIII Nashua S. Nov. 7. The $750,000 KEESEP yearling was previously fourth behind his unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile-winning stablemate Corniche (Quality Road) in the GI American Pharoah S. Oct 1. Rockefeller is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Sham.

Baffert will also tighten the girth on sharp six-furlong Del Mar Nov. 28 debut winner Newgrange (Violence). The highly regarded second-place finisher that day Got Thunder (Arrogate) returns to action at Santa Anita Friday evening.

Baffert's most recent of seven Sham winners include: MGISW McKinzie (Street Sense) (2018), Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) (2020) and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Life Is Good (Into Mischief) (2021).

A multiple stakes winner on turf and most recently a close third with a rough trip in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 5, Mackinnon (American Pharoah) returns to dirt. The Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. Sept. 6 and Zuma Beach S. Oct. 3 winner was a well-beaten fourth in his lone prior try on dirt on debut going 4 1/2 furlongs in Arcadia May 9.

A qualifying race for the 2022 GI Kentucky Derby, excluding horses trained by Baffert, the Sham winner will receive 10 qualifying points, with four to second, two to third and one to the fourth-place finisher. Churchill Downs banned Baffert for two years following the well-documented corticosteroid betamethasone positive of the late Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico).

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Malibu Win Could Mean Eclipse Award for Dr. Schivel

The race for 2021 champion sprinter looks like a tossup for now between Dr. Schivel (Violence) and Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), but that could change Sunday at Santa Anita.

While Jackie's Warrior is done for the year, Dr. Schivel will try to end 2021 with a victory against brilliant 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) in the GI Runhappy Malibu S., where he could pick up his second Grade I win on the year and his third stakes win overall. Jackie's Warrior ended the year with four stakes wins, but just one, the GI Allen Jerkens Memorial S., at the highest level. The two met for the only time this year in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, where Dr. Schivel was second, losing by a nose, and Jackie's Warrior finished sixth as the 1-2 favorite.

“This is a very prestigious race,” said Dr. Schivel's trainer, Mark Glatt. “We're hopeful he does very well and that will be enough for him to earn an Eclipse Award. Obviously, if he wins it will improve his chances considerably. I am told that a lot of the voters have already cast their votes or have already made up their minds. I hope not. How much this race makes a difference to the majority of the voters is kind of hard to say.”

Though he won last year's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity for trainer Luis Mendez, Dr. Schivel, a $37,000 RNA as a KEEJAN short yearling, was the forgotten member of the 3-year-old male division for much of the year. After a layoff of more than nine months and after being turned over to Glatt, he returned in June and won an allowance at Santa Anita. Glatt stuck to sprints and Dr. Schivel rewarded him with victories against older horses in the GI Bing Crosby S. and the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. A victory in the Breeders' Cup likely would have clinched year-end honors, but Dr. Schivel lost in what was one of the tightest photos in Breeders' Cup history.

“We got beat in the worst way possible but at least the horse showed up and ran his race, so we were pleased with that,” Glatt said. “The horse ran a heck of a race against a very good group of horses.”

In just about any other race against any other group of horses, a horse with Dr. Schivel's credentials would be the heavy favorite in a spot like the Malibu. But he will have to deal with Flightline, who, in his brief career, has shown that he could be a superstar and will likely be favored Sunday. A $1-million purchase as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga, Flightline debuted in March with a 13 1/4-length win in a maiden race at Santa Anita. He didn't resurface until September, when he won a Del Mar allowance race by 12 3/4 lengths, earning a 114 Beyer figure. The 114 is tied with Baby Yoda (Prospective) for the fastest number handed out on the year. Baby Yoda will also run in the Malibu, but is winless in two tries since his big-figure race.

Glatt respects Flightline, but believes his rival has something to prove in what will be his stakes debut.

“He's certainly been very impressive, to say the least,” Glatt said. “He basically manhandled horses and has done things extremely easily against lesser competition. One could say that until he beats stakes caliber horses that he is a little bit unproven. Certainly, his connections are very high on the horse. They've been on the record saying he's America's horse. Unless you're the one trying to outrun him, he's been a fun horse to watch. But you never know how a horse is going to respond when looked in the eye by a horse who has comparable ability. He may very well pass that test with flying colors, but until he does it we don't know. Hopefully, at some point in the race Dr. Schivel will be looking him in the eye. If he's as good as his connections say he is I am sure he will be difficult to outrun. But that's why they run the race.”

Flavien Prat took off Dr. Schivel to ride Flightline. Juan Hernandez has picked up the mount for Glatt.

“That says a lot about what Flavien thinks of that horse,” Glatt said.

Prat also took off 'Rising Star' Triple Tap (Tapit), who is two-for-two lifetime and a half-brother to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). John Velazquez will be aboard for trainer Bob Baffert.

Timless Bounty (Elusive Hour), Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) and Team Merchants (Nyquist) complete the field for the seven-furlong race.

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No Parole to Stand at Whispering Oaks in Louisiana

Grade I winner and 2020 Louisiana Horse of the Year No Parole (Violence–Plus One, by Bluegrass Cat) has been purchased by Coteau Grove Farms and Whispering Oaks Farms and will stand at Whispering Oaks Farm in Carencro, Louisiana, for $3,500 live foal, stands and nurses. Coteau Grove's bloodstock advisor Andrew Cary of Cary Bloodstock brokered the deal.

“We are very excited to be standing Louisiana-bred Grade I winner No Parole at Whispering Oaks, said Whispering Oaks owner Carrol Castille. “We are big supporters of the Louisiana breeding industry and it's great to be able to keep a homegrown
Grade I winner like this here to stand at stud. He showed tremendous talent and fits in perfectly with the other stallions on our roster. We look forward to supporting him with our own mares and think he'll be very popular with Louisiana breeders as well.”

No Parole was purchased for $75,000 as a yearling by Maggi Moss from the consignment of Select Sales as agent for Coteau Grove Farms at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Trained by Tom Amoss, the 'TDN Rising Star' began his career by winning his first three starts by a combined 34 lengths, and went wire to wire to win the GI Woody Stephens S. by 3 3/4 lengths last June. He retires with six wins in 13 starts and earnings of $369,866.

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