Three Horses Supplemented to KEENOV Book 1

Three horses, including a Grade III-winning juvenile filly, have been supplemented to Book 1 of the Keeneland November Sale.

  • American Apple (American Pharoah), a 2-year-old filly who won the Oct. 8 GIII Matron S. at Belmont at the Big A and is a contender for the Nov. 4 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland. KatieRich Farms consigns American Apple, who is cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect.
  • Princess Julia (Distorted Humor), a daughter of champion Folklore, who is in foal to Medaglia d'Oro. She is consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for STH LLC.
  • Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}), a 4-year-old filly who won this year's GII Dance Smartly and was second in the GI Just a Game S. and the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect, she is consigned by Bluewater Sales, agent.

Keeneland will accept supplements to Book 1 until the November Sale begins.

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Aiming for ‘Glory’ in the Pegasus F/M Turf

Since its inaugural running in 2017, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational has become one of the marquee events during Gulfstream's Championship Meeting. Its 'Turf' equivalent, which was added in 2019, was won by that season's Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, and three years later, a division for the fairer set is added to the card, the GIII TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational S.

Formerly the Marshua's River S., the 8 1/2-furlong test for older fillies and mares features a pair of Grade I winners–morning line favorite Peter Brant's Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) and Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), a homebred for Charles Fipke.

The former, a half-sister to MGSW Night Prowler (Giant's Causeway), is an eight-time stakes winner, including the most recent Del Mar's GI Matriarch S. Nov. 28. Last season, she also annexed the Plenty of Grace S. and De La Rose S., in addition to finishing runner-up in the GI First Lady S. The daughter of MGSW Mary's Follies was plucked out of the Paul Pompa Jr. dispersal at Keeneland last January by Brant for $925,000.

Lady Speightspeare showed her class early on, taking her career debut while becoming a 'TDN Rising Star' at Woodbine in August before taking the one-mile GI Natalma S. at that venue to cap off her 2-year-old campaign. Back on top in her sophomore reappearance while facing her elders in a Woodbine optional claimer last September, she was scratched after acting up in the gate before Keeneland's GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 16 and was scratched by her trainer Roger Attfield prior to the Oct. 29 GIII Rubicon Valley View S. Trying a synthetic surface for the first time in the seven-panel GII Bessarabian S. against older rivals at Woodbine Nov. 13, the chestnut rolled home by four lengths before finishing third behind the re-opposing Bipartisanship (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) in her final race of the season in Gulfstream's Tropical Park Oaks Dec. 26. Junior Alvarado rides the 4-year-old for the first time.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, offering very strong candidates in the other two Pegasus races, is represented in this inaugural running by Robert and Lawana Lowe's Sweet Melania (American Pharoah). The consistent filly has hit the board in 12 of 15 lifetime starts, including a recent win over the local turf course in the one-mile GIII Suwanee River S. Dec. 18. On that occasion, she defeated several horses marking their returns here, including runner-up Shifty She (Gone Astray).

“She's had six weeks since [the Suwanee River] and she's eating well, putting on a little more weight,” said Pletcher. “She's also been training very enthusiastically. All the signs you'd like to see. Her coat is better than it was. She just seems to be blossoming right now. This will be a tougher ask, but she's doing great.”

Making her U.S. debut Saturday, Gary Barber and Team Valor's Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}), winner of six of eight starts in Italy while under the care of trainer Diego Dettori. In her final race in Italy, the bay won the G3 Regina Elena Italian 1000 Guineas at Capannelle in Rome last April. Purchased by the current partnership 10 months ago, she suffered from bone bruising after her arrival in the U.S., postponing her Stateside debut.

“Everybody wants to win the 1000 Guineas equivalent. There it's a Group 3, but it's a Classic,” said Team Valor's Barry Irwin. “That's the big focal point for all the fillies.”

He continued, “She was a good 2-year-old. She would have been the second-best 2-year-old filly in Italy. She had six starts: four wins, two seconds. She got beat by the filly [Aria Importante] that wound up being the champion.”

Trained by Bill Mott, the filly will break from post 2 under Umberto Rispoli.

“She's a very likable filly,” said Irwin. “She's got a lot of pizazz about her. And she's got instant turn of foot, which is the one thing that we liked. That's why we buy so many horses over there. You tell them to go and it's like now.”

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Hurry Up And Wait: Italian Import Wakanaka Ready For U.S. Debut In Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf

Wakanaka has a hurry-up-and-wait story that has delivered her to the TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Invitational (G3) Presented by PEPSI Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Bred in Ireland and purchased at a British sale for a mere $4,274, the 4-year-old daughter of Power built her reputation in Italy. Team Valor International CEO Barry Irwin was well aware of her juvenile success, enlisted Gary Barber, a partner in many other horses through the years, and completed the deal to purchase the filly about 10 months ago. Irwin said the name Wakanaka has its origins are in Zimbabwe and means “she's beautiful.”

Now trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Wakanaka has recovered from a physical issue and will have her U.S. coming-out party in the newest addition to the Pegasus World Cup Invitational program.

Wakanaka and jockey Umberto Rispoli will start from Post 2 in the 1 1/16th miles turf race for older fillies and mares.

“She was a good 2-year-old. She would have been the second-best 2-year-old filly in Italy,” Irwin said. “She had six starts: four wins, two seconds. She got beat by the filly (Aria Importante) that wound up being the champion.”

Irwin said that Wakanaka is built like a sprinter, not overly tall but stout and powerful. Three of her 2-year-old wins were in turf sprints by a combined 10 ¾ lengths.

A goal for top 3-year-old fillies in Italy is the Premio Regina Elena Italian One Thousand Guineas (G3) contested at the Capannelle Racecourse in Rome in late April.

“Everybody wants to win the 1000 Guineas equivalent. There it's a Group 3, but it's a Classic,” Irwin said. “That's the big focal point for all the fillies.”

Irwin said the major question about Wakanaka was answered on March 17 in her prep for the Premio Regina Elena, the Premio Cesare Degli Occhi at San Siro.

“Nobody knew if she could rate and they were able to rate her,” Irwin said. “She went a mile and she won by (6 ½) lengths, very impressively.”

Based on that performance, Irwin began the process of trying to buy the filly.

“I was contacted by an agent that we buy a lot of horses with,” he said. “I've gotten plenty of horses in Italy and done extremely well with them. We've had a champion and a couple of Grade 1 winners over the years. I was familiar with the type of races that she was running in. I watched her and I had somebody go in there and check her out for me, a friend of mine who lives there.”

Irwin said he balked at the asking price, then reached out to Barber. The plan they developed was to buy the filly but allow the owner/trainer Diego Dettori to run her in the Premio Regina Elena in his colors and keep whatever purse money she earned.

“He's a young guy,” Irwin said. “It was his first big win. All we wanted was the filly.”

Wakanaka managed to overcome some traffic issues and improved to 6-2-0 from eight starts.

“She had kind of a rough trip. She was stuck between horses. She did rate well,” Irwin said. “Then when she got out, with about a furlong and a half to go, she exploded, opened up about two and a half and then won in hand by a length and a half.”

“We were very happy with that race. She got good speed ratings in Europe for that effort. She's a very likable filly. She's got a lot of pizazz about her. And she's got instant turn of foot, which is the one thing that we liked. That's why we buy so many horses over there. You tell them to go, and it's like now.”

Irwin said they asked Mott to train the horse because of his past success with horses from Italy. It did not turn out to be a be a smooth transition from Europe to American racing, though.

“She wound up getting bone bruising so we had to turn her out for two months,” Irwin said.

When she was ready, trainer Mark Casse and his staff helped get her fit before Mott arrived for the winter at Payson Park. Irwin said that Wakanaka got Mott's attention when she turned in a bullet work on Dec. 13. She has worked every week since and Irwin and Mott decided to run her in the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf.

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