Tag: Zedan Racing Stable

Muth Lays Siege To Arkansas, Delivers Win But No Derby Points

A pair of 'TDN Rising Stars' in Muth (Good Magic) and Timberlake (Into Mischief) squared off on an overcast but warm Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn Park to contest the 88th running of the GI Arkansas Derby.

What the race turned out to be was a strong statement issued by Muth, as Zedan Racing's colt kicked for home, won by two lengths and collected the purse money. Of course–since the 3-year-old is a trainee in Bob Baffert's care–he will not receive his 100 Kentucky Derby points.

This was the Hall of Fame trainer's fifth Arkansas Derby win–with the last coming when he won both halves of the split Derby with Nadal (Blame) and Charlatan (Speightstown) during Covid in 2020.

Muth's road to Oaklawn started when he broke his maiden impressively by 8 3/4 lenghts at first asking last June at Santa Anita. That effort earned him a 'Rising Star' badge. However, in his next start the $2 million OBS March grad took on fellow 'Star' and stablemate Prince of Monoco (Speightstown), and finished as the runner-up by 4 1/4 lengths in the GIII Best Pal S. at Del Mar in mid-August.

Baffert scratched him from running in the GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga because he thought his colt needed more recovery time after his race at the seaside oval. Back at 'The Great Race Place', the colt stretched out to two turns successfully when he won by 3 3/4 lengths in the GI American Pharoah S. in early October, and then was second over the same surface in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile when he could not catch champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light).

Muth in the early jumps | Coady Photography

After a two-month break, Muth returned to the Arcadia races Jan. 6 and took home the seven-furlong GII San Vicente S. Over the next month, as Baffert weighed his options for where to go next, he contemplated shipping the 3-year-old to Hot Springs for the GII Rebel S. However, a final workout shelved the trip and the trainer opted to wait for a potential shot at the Arkansas Derby.

Made the 8-5 morning-line favorite and saddled on behalf of Baffert by Rodolphe Brisset, Muth went off as the 2-1 second choice here with Timberlake garnering 1-1 favoritism. At the break, it was Time for Truth (Omaha Beach) who sped to the lead past the grandstand, but Muth was quickly into stride and tracked just to the outside of the early pacesetter into the first turn.

Suddenly at the top of the backstretch Timberlake shot between the two frontrunners, but Muth responded quickly and went with his rival. Posting fractions of :23.43 for the first quarter mile and :47.46 for the half-mile, it was the son of Good Magic who gained the upper hand around the far turn, which signaled that Timberlake was in trouble. Muth chopped up the ground down the lane and scampered home over Just Steel, who ran a game race in defeat followed by Mystik Dan.

“He got away and then he was in a good spot,” said Baffert. “The track–speed really wasn't playing well today–but he was in a good spot there. Down the backside, when I saw Timberlake sneak up in there, I thought maybe he was going to control the race from there because I figured he was the horse to beat. But Muth, he's just … the only that beat him was Fierceness and we saw what he did today (winning the Florida Derby). I'm just happy for everybody. It (Arkansas Derby) is very important. It's a very prestigious race, winning that. You know how we feel about Oaklawn.”

Pedigree Notes:
With nine graded stakes winners to his credit, Good Magic's other Grade I stakes winners include Blazing Sevens and last year's Kentucky Derby hero Mage. Muth, who tied an OBS sale record when he was purchased by Amr Zedan after he breezed during the under tack show going a furlong in :9 3/5, is the first foal out of Don Alberto homebred Hoppa (Uncle Mo). She RNA'd for $1.9 million at the Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale back in November. Hoppa is responsible for a 2-year-old filly by Violence, who went to Rigney Racing for $385,000 at the Keeneland September Sale, and a yearling filly by Tacitus. She was bred back to Good Magic this term.

Saturday, Oaklawn Park
ARKANSAS DERBY-GI, $1,500,000, Oaklawn, 3-30, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.54, ft.
1–MUTH, 124, c, 3, by Good Magic
                1st Dam: Hoppa, by Uncle Mo
                2nd Dam: Handoverthecat, by Tale of the Cat
                3rd Dam: Frayne, by Red Ransom
($190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $787,500. Lifetime Record: 6-4-2-0, $1,504,100. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Just Steel, 124, c, 3, Justify–Irish Lights (Aus), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($500,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-BC Stables, LLC; B-Summerhill Farm (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas. $262,500.
3–Mystik Dan, 124, c, 3, Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Lance Gasaway, 4 G racing LLC, and Valley View Farm LLC; B-Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby & 4G Racing LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $131,250.
Margins: 2, 4 1/4, HF. Odds: 2.30, 32.50, 4.00.
Also Ran: Timberlake, Informed Patriot, Time for Truth, Imperial Gun, Liberal Arts, Will Take It, Dimatic.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Muth Lays Siege To Arkansas, Delivers Win But No Derby Points appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Post Pattern: $1.7M Quality Road Colt Streaks Away to ‘Rising Star’ Tag

Making his first start on the main track after finishing a sneaky-good third when trying the turf on his Santa Anita debut Oct. 7. Zedan Racing Stables' Coach Prime (c, 2, Quality Road–Act Now, by Street Sense) was let off the leash with a furlong and a half to go Friday at Del Mar and powered away from his rivals to become the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star'.

The joint third-priciest offering at last year's Keeneland September sale when hammering to bloodstock agent Donato Lanni for $1.7 million, was roughed up a bit after breaking from gate nine in a field of 10 and took a few awkward strides, but that bit of trouble at the start assured that he would be able to get in and save a bit of ground three wide around the first turn. Remaining a couple of paths off the inside down the backstretch, Coach Prime looked as if he'd like to go on with things at an early stage, but Flavien Prat sat hard against him, waiting for the right moment to set him alight. Shuffled back into sixth, but still well within striking distance as they raced towards the quarter pole, Coach Prime advanced in hand into the lane, and when he was asked to take a gap between horses, he burst through, got a single right-handed reminder and was shown the whip the rest of the way, graduating by 7 1/4 emphatic lengths as the somewhat chilly 7-5 favorite.

Ostensibly named for University of Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders, Coach Prime is out of a winning half-sister to the stakes-placed The Right Path (Quality Road), a mare who was purchased for $150,000 in foal to Kitten's Joy at the 2020 Keeneland January Sale. The majority of the black-type in the family is under the colt's third dam, a half-sister to Minardi (Boundary) and Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat) who produced MGSW & MGISP Fed Biz (Giant's Causeway) and SW Spun Silk (A.P. Indy), the dam of GI Vosburgh S. winner Joking (Distorted Humor).

Act Now is the dam of a yearling colt by Union Rags, was barren to Audible for 2023 and was most recently bred to Quality Road's son City of Light.

4th-Del Mar, $63,500, Msw, 11-10, 2yo, 1m, 1:37.18, ft, 7 1/4 lengths.
COACH PRIME, c, 2, by Quality Road
1st Dam: Act Now, by Street Sense
2nd Dam: Always Trouble, by Bernardini
3rd Dam: Spunoutacontrol, by Wild Again
Sales history: $1,700,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $43,920. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-Kim Nardelli, Rodney Nardelli & William Werner & W S Farish (KY); T-Bob Baffert.

 

The post Post Pattern: $1.7M Quality Road Colt Streaks Away to ‘Rising Star’ Tag appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Good Magic’s ‘Rising Star’ Muth Tops Baffert Exacta in American Pharoah

Zedan Racing Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (c, 2, Good Magic–Hoppa, by Uncle Mo), second as the heavy favorite after pressing a blistering pace in the GIII Best Pal S. Aug. 13, showed a new dimension by coming off the pace while making his two-turn debut in style in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita. It was 3 3/4 lengths back to his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) in second. Be You (Curlin) was third.

Muth becomes a record-extending 12th American Pharoah winner for Baffert. He's captured five out of the past six runnings of the race named in honor of his 2015 Triple Crown winner.

“I love the way Muth settled,” Baffert said. “When I saw that I thought, 'well, we'll see how good he is,' and I think (jockey) Juan (Hernandez) just helped him a lot today. It is nice when you have two nice colts. (Wine Me Up) definitely earned his way into the Breeders' Cup. We still have (Best Pal and GI Del Mar Futurity winner) Prince of Monaco (Speightstown), too. We just have to keep them healthy.”

The 2-5 favorite, purchased by Amr Zedan for a sale-topping $2 million earlier this year at OBS March, rated kindly in an inside fourth as his aforementioned stablemate led through fractions of :23.30 and :46.49. Muth was ridden to take on Wine Me Up approaching the quarter pole, took over with authority in the stretch and drew clear late to win for fun.

Muth romped by 8 3/4 lengths in front-running fashion on debut at Santa Anita June 18 prior to finishing 4 1/4 lengths adrift stablemate Prince of Monaco in the six-furlong Best Pal at Del Mar.

“He surprised me the way he relaxed today because he is normally a really aggressive horse,” Hernandez said. “Out of the gate he's fast. Bob and his team have been working with him trying to get him to relax.”

He added, “I think this is the best horse I've ever ridden so far, I mean Cave Rock was one of the best, but this one is pretty close. Hopefully we can stay healthy and we can get him in the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree Notes:

Muth becomes the third winner at the top level and eighth graded stakes winner overall for his young sire Good Magic, who is also the sire of this year's GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Broodmare sire Uncle Mo is now responsible for eight graded winners, including GISW and leading GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}).

The first foal out of the winning Don Alberto homebred Hoppa (Uncle Mo), Muth brought $190,000 from the Gladwell family's pinhooking partnership out of the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment on day seven of last year's Keeneland September sale. Muth was the buzz horse of OBS March after delivering a :9 3/5 bullet breeze and a sensational gallop out for Top Line Sales during the under-tack show.

As profiled by Steve Sherack in our special American Pharoah Preview Edition, Zedan also purchased fellow GISWs 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) ($2.3 million OBS April) and 'TDN Rising Star' Princess Noor (Not This Time) ($1.35 million OBS April) off of Top Line Sales at 2-year-old sales in Ocala.

Muth's breeder Don Alberto purchased Handoverthecat (Tale of the Cat), with Hoppa in utero, for $170,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. Hoppa's yearling filly by Violence was purchased by Rigney Racing for $385,000 at Keeneland September. Hoppa was bred back to Good Magic after producing a filly by Tacitus this year.

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
AMERICAN PHAROAH S.-GI, $301,500, Santa Anita, 10-7, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.45, ft.
1–MUTH, 122, c, 2, by Good Magic
                1st Dam: Hoppa, by Uncle Mo
                2nd Dam: Handoverthecat, by Tale of the Cat
                3rd Dam: Frayne, by Red Ransom
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $256,600. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wine Me Up, 122, c, 2, Vino Rosso–Deanaallen'skitten, by Kitten's Joy. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($115,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $300,000 2yo '23 OBSOPN). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman; B-Kenneth L. Ramsey & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Be You, 122, c, 2, Curlin–Jacaranda, by Congrats. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($320,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable; B-Alpha Delta Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $36,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, 5 1/4, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 9.00, 5.10.
Also Ran: Raging Torrent, Rothschild, Indispensable, Next Level, El Magnifico.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.

VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

The post Good Magic’s ‘Rising Star’ Muth Tops Baffert Exacta in American Pharoah appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Arabian Knight Gives Baffert Record-Breaking Win in Pacific Classic

Sent off as the 2-1 favorite despite a below-par third behind the re-opposing Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. July 22, Zedan Racing Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) became the first 3-year-old since Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}) in 2014 to best his elders in the GI FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic at Del Mar, earning a spot in the field for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in the process.

“Those two horses (Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride) are really good horses,” winning Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. “The wire couldn't come soon enough. I know it was crazy to come back here and run him at a mile and a quarter, but if you're going to get beat, I'd rather get beat in a Grade I. I loved the way he digs and fought and he's going to get better.”

Kicked straight into the lead from an outside gate by Flavien Prat–who was the passenger aboard Flightline in last year's history-making Pacific Classic, the $2.3-million topper from the 2022 OBS April Sale made the running once guided down onto the fence as Geaux Rocket Ride tracked from just behind while also hugging the inside.

Controlling the pace down the backstretch and around the second turn, Arabian Knight began to feel pressure from Slow Down Andy (Nyquist) as Geaux Rocket Ride was poised to pounce. It appeared as if the front-runner was in hot water, but he continued to find at the rail and was home narrowly best over Geaux Rocket Ride to give trainer Bob Baffert his record-setting seventh win in the race, breaking a tie with the late Bobby Frankel.

A 'Rising Star' on debut over Breeders' Cup weekend at Keeneland last fall, Arabian Knight splashed home an easy winner while making his two-turn debut in Oaklawn's GIII Southwest S. Jan. 28. He returned from the shelf with a third-place finish as the favorite in the Jersey Shore centerpiece last time.

“He's a nice horse and he showed it today,” Prat said. “He was running easily for me all the way around. He's lightly raced and I think this race will only make him better. It's an honor to win a big race like this.”

Pedigree Notes:

A 15th Grade I winner for the outstanding Uncle Mo, Arabian Knight is out of Borealis Night, herself a $450,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, who was fourth in a lone racetrack appearance for owner/trainer Ralph Nicks in late 2018 and was scooped up by Nathan McCauley's River Oak Farm for just $50,000 at the Fasig-Tipton February a few months later.

The mare had some pedigree underneath her as a half-sister to the three-times graded-placed Kinsley Kisses (Congrats) and GSP Spooky Woods (Ghostzapper) and that helped earn her a date in the breeding shed with Uncle Mo. Consigned to the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, Borealis Night was hammered down to Corser Thoroughbreds for $285,000 and the operation recovered a fair bit of that outlay when Scott and Evan Dilworth paid $250,000 for the colt at Keeneland September in 2021.

Prepared by Top Line Sales, agent, for last year's OBS April Sale, the bay breezed an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 and went on to top the event on a bid of $2.3 million from Gary Young, agent for Zedan Racing Stable. The latter also purchased Princess Noor (Not This Time) off Top Line for a sales-topping $1.35 million at OBSAPR in 2020.

The first daughter of Astrology to be represented by a stakes winner, Borealis Night is also the dam of a yearling colt by Quality Road.

Saturday, Del Mar Thoroughbred
FANDUEL RACING PACIFIC CLASSIC S.-GI, $1,002,500, Del Mar, 9-2, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:03.19, ft.
1–ARABIAN KNIGHT, 118, c, 3, by Uncle Mo
                1st Dam: Borealis Night, by Astrology
                2nd Dam: Winter Forest, by Forestry
                3rd Dam: Shivering Six, by Saratoga Six
1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien Prat. $600,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, $1,244,275. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Geaux Rocket Ride, 118, c, 3, Candy Ride (Arg)–Beyond Grace, by Uncle Mo. ($350,000 Ylg '21 FTKJUL). O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-OXO Equine LLC (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $200,000.
3–Slow Down Andy, 124, c, 4, Nyquist–Edwina E, by Square Eddie. O/B-Reddam Racing, LLC (CA); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $120,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 2.10, 2.20, 11.30.
Also Ran: Senor Buscador, Skinner, Defunded, Piroli, Tripoli, Order and Law, Stilleto Boy. Scratched: Katonah.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Arabian Knight Gives Baffert Record-Breaking Win in Pacific Classic appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights