From the Week concluding August 8, 2021
By Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper and analyst
1 – Some horses have a knack for winning photo finishes. When the result of a race remains in doubt approaching the shadow of the wire, they somehow manage to reach back for reserve energy that only the good ones can find, as opposed to a lesser horse that might simply buckle under pressure. I can relate to the latter; I ran track in high school and my coach told me I was the human equivalent of a maiden claimer. I said, “state bred or open?”
Trainers often romanticize that top horses “know” where the wire is. Maybe they do know, but if so then they’re smarter than some jocks, who I’ve seen stand up at the sixteenth pole. We’ve all witnessed horses that hit the front and then appear to pull themselves up or lose focus and begin to coast, making the margin of victory much closer than it should have been.
Then there’s Knicks Go. He’s apparently not interested in posing for any stinking photos. He wants to blow you out.
The victory by the Brad Cox-trained horse in the Whitney S.-G1 at the Spa on Saturday was thoroughly predictable – the best horse with the easiest trip usually wins – as was his margin of domination, which in his case always has been of blowout proportions. The son of Paynter now has won eight races during his career with the following margins of victory beginning with his most recent: 4 1/2; 10 1/4; 2 3/4; 3 1/2; 10 1/4; 7 1/2; 3 1/2; and 5 1/2.
One other thing about Knick’s Go. He’s never won a race in which he didn’t lead wire-to-wire. We’re not really sure if any older horse currently in training can defeat him even if able to get in front of him early, but we do believe this: Knick’s Go will continue to win if he’s on the lead from the start. And it won’t be in a photo.
2 – Trainer Rudy Rodriguez said he was “pleasantly surprised” at the manner in which Bella Sofia dismantled a superior field of 3-year-old fillies in the 7F Test S.-G1 at Saratoga on Saturday. The bargain basement $20,000 OBS 2020 summer sale purchase registered a career top 101 Beyer speed figure in the four and one-half length victory while improving her record to three wins in four starts. In doing so, she became a legitimate candidate for year-end Eclipse Award consideration in the 3-year-old filly division and/or the filly and mare sprint category, though there is still much work to be done.
But if Rudy had read this column last month he wouldn’t have been “surprised.” We certainly weren’t. Here’s what we wrote in this space following her allowance win at Belmont Park on July 11:
“As impressive as any performance witnessed during the past week was the runaway romp by Bella Sofia in a first-level allowance sprint for 3-year-old fillies Sunday at Belmont Park. The margin of victory (six and one-half lengths) and the manner in which the win was accomplished (she easily disposed of a pace rival and then drew off with a ton left) surely stamps the daughter of Awesome Patriot as a legitimate threat to repeat on the raise when facing graded stakes company at Saratoga.
Bella Sofia will get some time off to recover from what had to be a physically taxing, exhausting effort and probably won’t return until the fall. With her stalking/prompting style and the ability to re-break at the head of the lane, she has the perfect set of skills for the BC Filly & Mare Sprint, which like the Test S., is run at seven furlongs.
3 – Maybe it’s not the most glamorous in thoroughbred racing but the long distance filly and turf division in North America has a new star, and shockingly she’s not from Europe and not trained by Chad Brown. Her name is War Like Goddess, purchased for $30,000 as a yearling at Keeneland and trained by Bill Mott. If you didn’t see her victory in the Glens Falls S.-G3 at Saratoga on Saturday, take the time watch what was a much more impressive than raw running lines would lead you to believe. Victorious now in five of six career starts, the daughter of English Channel came against slow fractions while being forced to rally widest of all yet was relentless through the lane, quickly and easily swallowing up her rivals with a turn off foot had to shade 23 seconds for the final quarter mile of the 12-furlong marathon trip.
She didn’t bring much at auction, because as successful of a sire as English Channel has been, his progeny are generally late developers, are pretty much grass only, and tend to be on the smaller side. I’ve never owned one, but I’d love to. When does that Keeneland catalogue come out, anyway?
The Europeans don’t always send their best for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf – they’ve never really had to – but I’m not sure they have the luxury of bringing a second stringer this year. War Like Goddess earned a career top Beyer number of 99 in the Glens Falls, but even if accurate that only tells us what she did. It doesn’t tell us what she’s capable of.
4 – Her World was supposed to debut in a maiden grass sprint for juvenile fillies at Saratoga July 29, but the race got washed off the turf, so trainer Wesley Ward, not willing to wait any longer to unleash his latest keg of dynamite, vanned her down to Monmouth Park for the Tyro Stakes over five furlongs on turf against the boys, who as it turned, clearly had no chance after the opening 20 yards of the race had unfolded. The Irish-bred daughter, from the first crop of the brilliant young Scat Daddy stallion and Irish champion Caravaggio, simply ran her rivals off their feet enroute to a six length score in :56.62. A compact filly blessed with extremely quick action and athleticism, she was a $400,000 Keeneland yearling purchase that apparently was originally – and prophetically – called Rocket Woman. Both names remain registered to her dam’s 2019 foal, according to The Jockey Club registry.
Can’t say yet that she’s this year’s Golden Pal but the Ward barn has to be thinking Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on the first weekend in November at Del Mar, where the short stretch provides the speed types with a major advantage.
5 – On Labor Day weekend, Friday, Aug. 31, 2001 (three weeks shy of exactly 20 years as of this writing), I was in a hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama, having just flown in on the UCLA football team Delta Airlines charter for their opening game the following day in Tuscaloosa against Alabama. I was nervous, not about the game as I knew we’d beat them (and we did), but rather about the afternoon’s Spinaway S.-G1 at Saratoga. Team Valor’s filly Cashier’s Dream was supposed to win – she would go off at 30 cents on the dollar – but when you’re facing the bluebloods with a Michigan-bred, you don’t have the luxury of being overconfident.
Barry (Irwin) and I had purchased her for our stable earlier that summer after her first two outings, both wins, in a maiden $50,000 claimer and an allowance race at Churchill Downs. At the time it seemed like we had more trainers than horses, but when we discussed who we should transfer her to, we decided to add a new one to the roster. “What about Steve Asmussen?” Barry asked. “Well, his brother (Cash) once rode a winner for us, so there’s that. Actually, I like him a lot,” I said of the young trainer who had saddled his first Grade-1 winner only two years before. I think he’s on his way to becoming somebody.”
Cashier’s Dream won the Spinaway by a pole, and despite having her career tragically cut short due to illness, remains one of the best fillies we’ve ever owned. He didn’t train many for us, but Steve was one of the best horseman we ever employed, and though he had an early reputation of being difficult to deal with, that never was the case with us. Over the weekend he became the winningest trainer in North American thoroughbred history at 9,445 when he saddled Stellar Tap to a runaway debut maiden win at the Spa. With a little luck, he’ll reach 10,000 by the end of next year. Congrats!
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From the week concluding August 1, 2021
By Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper and analysis
1 – There were a trio of important sprint stakes races over the weekend, two of which were won by 3-year-olds, one of which scored high on the goose-bump scale. Jackie’s Warrior had been upset by Drain the Clock in the Woody Stephens S.-G1 in early June but in their rematch in the 6.5 furlong Amsterdam S.-G2 at Saratoga it was no contest as the son of Maclean’s Music ran his rival into the ground during a torrid early pace duel and then coasted home to register a more than seven length victory. The assigned Beyer speed figure of 101, while arguably accurate, doesn’t do Jackie’s Warrior justice considering the blistering early fractions that he dispensed, and the victory, albeit vs. 3-year-olds only and over a muddy track that may (or may not) have moved him up, stamps him as the leader in the national sprint division for at least until Life Is Good makes a reappearance.
During the winter, Jackie’s Warrior was given one shot to gain passage on this year’s Derby trail, in the two-turn one mile Southwest Stakes-G3 at Oaklawn Park in February. He finished a well-beaten, fading third to Essential Quality, and that, thankfully, was the end of that. Since then he’s been allowed to concentrate on races that fit his profile in one-turn races up to a mile, winning the Pat Day Mile-G2 by a head and then missing by a neck in the Stephens before his Amsterdam success. Though his next start will be at seven furlongs in the H. Allen Jerkens S.-G1 Aug 28, It will be at the shorter six furlong trip of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint-G1 where we think he’ll truly be at his very best.
2 – Dr. Schivel is the other 3-year-old to make noise in the sprint division, doing so on Saturday when beating older horses in the Bing Crosby S.-G1. But how strong of a race was it? More than half the field appeared to finish in a heap and the assigned Beyer speed figure of 90 will get you nothing but hot and dirty on Breeders’ Cup day.
Successful in four of six career outings, the son of Violence did register a 97 Beyer in an overnight race at Santa Anita in his first start of the year in June, a respectable figure but not one that’s going to win the B.C. Sprint. Maybe he can do better. He’ll have to. The good news for Dr. Schivel is that he clearly loves the always quirky Del Mar main track (home to this year’s Breeders’ Cup), having won all three of his starts there including the 2020 Del Mar Futurity-G1.
3 – Continuing with our theme of the impact of speed figures in the evaluation process, the first-time starting juvenile filly Magnolia really caught our eye on Saturday when graduating in a five furlong turf sprint at Del Mar. Off a bit slowly and then stymied behind the leaders while saving ground to the head of the lane, she displayed quick action and extreme athleticism to angle out for room in the upper stretch and then quickly reeled in the leader to win like a filly who is destined to be somebody down the road.
Her Beyer speed figure of 70 was okay, not great, but the final furlong, officially clocked in :11.41 (she was at least a length back at this stage) under mild hand coaxing only may paint or more accurate picture. As a daughter of Frosted, she’s supposed to run on, so we’d think the listed Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Sept. 5 will be next. Then, we’ll learn if the Simon Callaghan-trained filly is better than the fig says she is.
4 – It was a little puzzling that the Monmouth Park stewards waited two weeks after the fact to announce that jockey Flavien Prat had been handed a seven day suspension for careless riding aboard the disqualified Hot Rod Charlie in the Haskell S.-G1. Prat was cited for “failing to make a reasonable effort to keep his horse from drifting in past the 1/8 pole, allowing his horse to cross in front of Midnight Bourbon, which resulted in Midnight Bourbon clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie, causing Midnight Bourbon to stumble badly, unseating his rider.”
The owners of the fallen colt surely would have collected at least third money of $100,000 had Prat maintained a straight course but instead received nothing but a bill for a standard jockey’s fee owed to their rider, Paco Lopez. Meanwhile, in what may be a case of being good to have friends in high places, Prat is allowed to serve his days beginning September 7 and ending Sept. 13, a time frame that conveniently begins one day after the rich Del Mar season closes and occurs during the first week of the Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos Racetrack. Not sure how many mounts Prat was expected to ride during the Fair meeting, but at the recently concluded two week summer session at Los Alamitos, he, according to the track’s website accepted exactly zero mounts.
5 – I had the good fortune of covering the Preakness S.-G1 on site at Pimlico for HRTV for a dozen years, a significant journalistic experience to be sure, one that allowed me to be rooftop for one of the most thrilling horse races I’ve ever seen, the victory by the filly Rachel Alexandra over Derby winner Mine That Bird in 2009. Three years earlier, the undefeated Barbaro, who had captured the attention of the mainstream media as a likely Triple Crown winner following his runaway Kentucky Derby triumph, was expected to take his next step toward racing immortality that afternoon but tragically suffered what proved to be a catastrophic injury in the opening furlong of the race, and ultimately had to be put down several months later despite heroic attempts to save him.
The winner of that Preakness wasn’t the story line, in fact almost all of our reporting centered on Barbaro’s dire post-race condition and his hastily assembled emergency transportation with escort to a nearby veterinary clinic. Through it all, we managed to occasionally drop into the discussion that a little known 12-1 longshot named Bernardini, trained by Tom Albertrani, actually had won the race
We may not have realized it at the time, but Bernardini was a fabulous race horse an in retrospect may have won the Preakness under any circumstance. The Darley Stable (Godolphin)-owned colt would proceed to win the Jim Dandy S.-G1, the Travers S.-G1 and the Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1 (each victory under wraps) before going to the post in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at even money, a race that I’ll always believe he should have won. The victim of pilot error or perhaps overconfidence by jockey Javier Castellano, Bernardini was asked to move too soon while very wide into the teeth of a contested pace and eventually paid the price when worn down close home by Invasor, who won by a length and in doing so earned Horse of the Year honors.
A resident of Jonabell Farm throughout his stud career, Bernardini was euthanized last Friday at age 18 due to laminitis. Though he never produced anything that was quite as accomplished as himself, the son of A. P. Indy was highly successful in his second career, siring at last count 80 stakes winners and the dams of 54 stakes winners. Those numbers will rise in seasons to come, and his influence in North American breeding will be felt for decades.
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From the week concluding July 25, 2021
By Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper and analyst
1 – It’s not called the “Graveyard of Favorites” for nothing. Unbeaten Malathaat (1/5) couldn’t lose the Coaching Club American Oaks-G1 at Saratoga, until she did. But that wasn’t the shocking part, because she performed as well as could be expected, actually earning a career top 96 Beyer after responding bravely to constant pressure before falling short by a head. What was unforeseen was the monumental step up in performance by Maracuja, who left 14-1 but would have been triple that price (at least) if there had been a full field of runners instead of just a four. This was the same Maracuja that was 37-1 when last seen finishing seventh (beaten more than seven lengths) in the Kentucky Oaks-G1 behind Malathaat and had gone three weeks without a recorded workout between June 13 and July 4, during which time she was getting over a “setback,” according to trainer Rob Atras.
But, make no mistake, the outcome was no fluke. After pressing Malathaat during the opening half mile, Maracuja began to retreat midway down the backstretch and found herself last approaching the half mile pole and appearing be done at that point. But, in an instant and apparently channeling her inner Billy Mills, she somehow managed to re-rally wide into the lane and then just kept on coming (“Look at Maracuja! Look at Maracuja!”). Despite this extraordinary performance, the daughter of Honor Code still has much to accomplish in order to enter the conversation for a year-end Eclipse Award in the 3-year-old filly. But now, at least, there’s a path. The Alabama S.-G1 (August 21) is next.
2 – “Can’t miss” favorites can get beaten at Del Mar, too, as witnessed by Going Global’s stunning defeat at 2/5 by a half-length to Madrone in the San Clemente S.-G2 on Saturday. Yes, she had been freshened for eight weeks and displayed a work tab that was light if not steady, but this was her first defeat in six starts since arriving in the States after the Irish-bred 3-year-old had compiled such a record that trainer P. D’Amato was speaking of her in terms of being the best grass filly he’d ever trained.
Though Flavien Prat provided no excuses (“the winner got the jump, but I got through”), jockeys always have been reluctant to position themselves outside entering the far turn in a Del Mar turf race for fear of being parked out and losing valuable ground, especially over a course with a bull ring equivalent stretch run of just 817 feet run. Nobody would dispute that an ideal trip on grass would be to save ground with cover and then quicken through the lane, but at Del Mar the ability to mount momentum, as Madone did outside in the clear from the mid-point of the far turn to the wire, is often just as effective and often times less problematic. While Prat and Going Global were bottled up for at least a furlong during the critical stage of the race, Madone was in full flight. That, more than anything, made the difference. We’ll see what happens when they meet again in the Del Mar Oaks-G1 Aug. 21.
3 – Jockey Kent Desormeaux took to his twitter feed to vent frustration following his suspension for three days after his mount in the Friday Del Mar first race, the debuting 2-year-old filly Seven Exes, was disqualified from fifth to sixth for shifting in at the break and causing crowding at the start of the race. After viewing the head on, it’s hard to believe that Kent was even called in, much less cited. Indeed, the filly veered in sharply and initiated a chain reaction, but it certainly appeared that the jockey did what he could to straighten her out after contact was made. Remember, this was a 2-year-old in her first career start. It happens.
Contrast this to jockey Kyle Fry’s premeditated gate break maneuver in the Del Mar 11th race on Saturday, July 17. Leaving from the rail midway up the turf chute, Fry, from the number one post position aboard Jimmy Blue Jeans, drifted out noticeably leaving the gate in what certainly appeared to be an attempt to gain a better angle entering the main course, but in doing so caused a reaction that completely sawed off the runner drawn right next to him, Wyfire, which clearly cost that colt valuable early position and arguably his best chance. Wyfire did manage to pick himself off the ground to eventually rally and wind up fourth, but there was no inquiry, no disqualification, and no days. This might be a video Kent should use as evidence to cite inconsistency, if nothing else, during his appeal hearing, assuming the ruling is still pending.
4 – Adayar, a son of Frankel who defeated terrific older rivals Mishriff and Love at Ascot on Saturday, became the first colt to win the Epsom Derby-G1 and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.-G1 back-to-back since the brilliant Galileo pulled it off 21 years ago, and in doing so stamped himself as a top contender for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and a viable candidate for European Horse of the Year honors. And he may very well be good enough to do just that. But you have to wonder, as many English scribes are currently debating, is Adayar even is the best colt in Charlie Appleby’s yard? Yes, he did defeat his stable mate Hurricane Lane, who finished third in the Derby, but ‘Lane had a legitimate excuse (blew two shoes) before returning to win both the Irish Derby-G1 and the Grand Prix de Paris-G1. If everything goes well for both, the question may be settled on the first Sunday in October at Longchamp.
As for Mishriff, his trainer John Gosden sportingly made just a brief mention of the weight discrepancy (11 lbs.) afforded the 3-year-old Adayar on Saturday over his older rival while no doubt keeping in mind that such a weight break has helped him with many of his own 3-year-old in the past. Gosden said the Juddmonte International at York Aug. 18 is next for Mishriff. As for any long range plan for the Saudi World Cup winner, we’d have to think, the Breeders’’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on the first Saturday in November is in the back of trainer’s mind, as well.
5 – It took trainer Bob Baffert forever (or the Del Mar equivalent of six racing days) to saddle his first winner of the 2021 season, first when sending out the “other Baffert” Risk and Reward to a 7-1 upset victory over his 4/5 favored stable mate Bobby Bo in the Sunday opener, and then, in the next race, unveiling what appears to be an exceptional prospect with the 2-year-old Street Sense colt Murray, a strolling winner by almost 12 lengths despite being taken in hand and allowed to coast in the final 70 yards. The Beyer speed figure of 78, while quite good, didn’t quite meet the visual, but that’s fine.
Murray was produced by the Tiznow mare Now Now, who was unplaced in two starts but is a half-sister to Amsterdam S.-G2 winner Listen Here, to Pennsylvania Oaks winner Indy Bird, and to the stakes-placed dam of the terrific Grade-1 winning turf filly La Coronel, which means he has a right to run short or long, dirt or turf. Chances are he’s going to be good at something.
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From the week concluding July 18, 2021
By Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper/analyst
1 – The disqualification of Hot Rod Charlie in the Haskell S.-G1 – the fastest (and easiest) decision by a board of stewards we’ve seen since maybe ever – lands strictly on the shoulders of Flavien Prat, not Paco Lopez, not the no-whip rule, and certainly not Hot Rod Charlie, who didn’t lug in but was clearly steered in, either carelessly or purposely, by Prat. In a television interview the following day on TVG, Prat said he wasn’t even aware that his actions had placed Midnight Bourbon in close quarters in mid-stretch. “I had no clue what happened. It was just after the wire that I realized he was in between us.”
Well, folks, that’s the definition of carelessness. And Prat, a great jockey to be sure – head-and-shoulders above his colleagues on the Southern California circuit and never considered to be a rough or dirty rider – appeared to make a calculated mistake, that of assuming that Midnight Bourbon had dropped away and was clear of heel-clipping range. In leaning to his left in an effort to have Hot Rod Charlie better engage his main challenger Mandaloun, Prat did what he thought he needed to do in order to extract the maximum competitive energy from his colt. And the maneuver served its purpose, as Hot Rod Charlie indeed sensed the challenge, dug down deep and got the best of Mandaloun right at the wire.
We’ll never know which of the two would have crossed the wire first if Prat had not decided to change lanes without signaling; we can only be thankful that Midnight Bourbon (who managed to keep his feet in a truly magnificent display of athleticism) and Lopez (who must be thinking what the reaction would have been if HE had done what Prat did) weren’t injured.
2 – There were several superior performances last weekend by horse and trainer, not the least of which was the second straight victory by Althiqa (and now three-out-four in head-to-head battles) over Summer Romance in the Diana S.-G1 at Saratoga that produced yet another one-two finish from these two terrific Great Britain-based fillies. We expected the result of last month’s Just A Game S.-G1 to be reversed because of a highly favorable pace flow that likely would favor the front-running Summer Romance (it did), but Althiqa, despite being forced to rally wide into slow fractions, collared her Godolphin stable mate close home while continuing the superlative form that had been evident this past winter in Dubai.
It’s been reported in Daily Racing Form that both fillies will return to the States in the fall, Althiqua for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf over 11 furlongs at Del Mar, and Summer Romance for the First Lady S.-G1 at Keeneland. We’re not sure there’s an American-based older filly or mare turf specialist who could beat either one of them right now.
3 – Just in time for the late-summer yearling sales, freshman stallion Practical Joke is off to highly-promising start at stud, with his first crop represented by Wit, now unbeaten in two starts, a six length maiden win at Belmont Park last month and then the Sanford S.-G3 over the weekend at Saratoga by eight lengths, with runner-up Headline Report more than five clear of the rest. If Wit turns out to be as accomplished a racehorse as his sire, that will be nice, but if you recall, Practical Joke was notorious for being almost unbeatable in one corner races but something far less than that when stretching out around two turns.
Though it’s far too early to pigeon-hole Wit as a late-running sprinter, at this stage of his young career, there is a strong possibility that is what he will prove to be. Assuming he stays healthy and continues on a logical schedule that should include the 7f Hopeful S.-G1 and then perhaps the 8F Champagne S.-G1, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt won’t have to cross that bridge until the 8.5 furlong Breeders’ Cup Juvenile S.-G1 on the first Friday in November at Del Mar.
4 – And then there’s Gun Runner, who appears on the path to where his sire, Candy Ride, always has been. With his first foals racing this year, the Three Chimneys stallion already has sired eight winners (seven doing so in their debuts), perhaps none more impressive than the filly Echo Zulu, successful by five and one-half lengths at Saratoga opening day for her sire’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, in a performance that was assigned a 92 Beyer speed figure, 16 points better than what Pretty Bird earned when easily winning the Schuylerville S.-G3 later in the day.
While Echo Zulu has been the most impressive juvenile filly we’ve witnessed so far, we also very much liked what we saw at Del Mar from Smash Ticket in her victory on Saturday. Second to the very speedy Wicked Halo in her debut at Lone Star Park, the daughter of Midnight Lute (and a May foal, no less) earned a stakes-quality 78 Beyer speed figure in a five-length maiden romp, winning like a filly who seems certain to run on.
5 – News flash: the rail is death at Del Mar. Like always. Like it’s certain to be on Breeders’ Cup weekend in November, just as it was when Championship Day was held there four years ago. Yes, things could change (no, actually, they won’t), but during the first three days of the 2021 season, here are the stats for post position number one on dirt: Sprints (15 races, no wins, no seconds, three thirds). Routes: (5 races, no wins, no seconds, one third).
Meanwhile, horses drawn in either of the two extreme outside posts in all main track events have won 10 of the 19 races. So, when you open your Form and peruse the past performances charts, start from the outside and work your way down. If you find something you like right off the bat, circle it and just move on to the next race. Hey, just trying to make things easy.
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From the Weekend Concluding July 11, 2021
By Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper/analyst
1 – It may be difficult to truly appreciate the impact that Galileo had on thoroughbred racing, both on the track and in his record-setting career at stud. Arguably the sport’s most influential stallion in the past half-century if not of all time, the winner of both the Epsom Darby and the Irish Derby in 2001 was the product of 14-time champion sire Sadler’s Wells and Arc winner Urban Sea and thus truly epitomized the old saying, “breed the best to the best and hope for the best.” At stud, Galileo sired at last count 338 stakes winners, including the undefeated Frankel, certainly one of the greatest race horses in European history.
Galileo’s influence is guaranteed to carry on through his sons and daughters for as long as The Jockey Club keeps records. He was euthanized July 10 at the age of 23 due to a chronic injury to his left fore front, hours before his 3-year-old son of Bolshoi Ballet became his 91st Grade/Goup-1 winner when capturing the Belmont Derby-G1.
2 – Trainer Aidan O’Brien is properly regarded as one of the world’s greatest trainers but gamblers who have backed his Irish-based runners in New York in the past few years have been wondering what the hype is all about. Having a record of something like 1-for-61 prior to his sending Santa Barbara and Bolshoi Ballet across the pond gave many handicappers what proved to be an unnecessary reason for pause in the Belmont Oaks-G1 and Belmont Derby-G1, respectively, even though both imports appeared on resume to be absolute standouts. Both runners left at just slightly better than even money, with Santa Barbara accelerating impressively in the closing stages to win the Oaks as much best and then an hour later Bolshoi Ballet taking an overland journey to produce a smart score in the Derby.
It must be noted that they are 3-year-olds and thus have plenty of room for further development. However, neither are considered to be at the top of the list among those that could venture to Del Mar in the fall for the 2021 Breeders’ Cup festival, a scary thought for an American long distance turf contingent that, as usual, appears at the midpoint of the season to be only slightly above ordinary.
3 – It’ll be interesting to see if Oaklawn Park’s decision to move next year’s $1.2 million Arkansas Derby-G1 up to April 2, five weeks prior to the Run for the Roses rather than its traditional three week slot, has any impact on the placement of the yet-to-be-scheduled $750,000 Florida Derby-G1, which, if tradition holds, would be positioned to run on that same day. One would think that with a more lucrative purse of $450,000, the Arkansas Derby might be in line to attract the stronger field. However, when it comes to Kentucky Derby preparation, most horsemen are far less concerned about a purse discrepancy than taking the path of least resistance towards the accumulation of points that assures a spot in the starting line-up on the first Saturday in May.
Gulfstream Park management could move the Florida Derby to the next day (Sunday), wait a week and make it a Stronach Group coast-to-coast double header with the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby-G1, or simply stand pat. As a loyal employee, whatever management decides is officially fine by me.
4 – As impressive as any performance witnessed during the past weekend was the runaway romp by Bella Sofia in a first-level allowance sprint for 3-year-olds fillies Sunday at Belmont Park. The margin of victory (six and one-half lengths) and the manner in which the win was accomplished (she easily disposed of a pace rival and then drew off with a ton left) surely stamps the daughter of Awesome Patriot as a legitimate threat to repeat on the raise when facing graded stakes company at Saratoga. Though she won her debut by more than 11 lengths and then was beaten just a length by (at-the-time) undefeated Australasia in the listed Jersey Girl S. last month, this effort left her previous two outings far behind while earning an Equibase speed figure of 112, easily a career top.
It’s hard to believe that the Rudy Rodriguez-trained filly brought only $20,000 at the 2020 OBS June sale, though to be fair she was a sibling to nobody and her 10 2/5 seconds breeze during the preview session was visually average at best.
5 – It’s been getting worse by the year but in 2021 the proliferation of mis-timed fractions and final times of races throughout North America has reached a level of absurdity. Not a day goes by when horse players, especially those that depend on accurate speed figures as the backbone of their handicapping process, aren’t burdened with charts that are peppered with the infuriating “hand-timed” designation. What’s worse is when final times are clearly wrong, and the tracks don’t even both to issue a correction.
On Sunday alone, the Equibase official chart failed to list any fractions or final time associated with the featured River Memories Stakes at Belmont Park. We put a man on the moon more than 50 years ago. It shouldn’t be that difficult to accurately clock a horse race.
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From the Weekend Concluding July 5, 2021
By Jeff Siegel, Xpressbet.com handicapper/analyst
1 – The most significant performance of the extended holiday weekend comes courtesy of St Mark’s Basilica in his nothing-short-of-exceptional victory in the 10F Coral-Eclipse S.-G1 at Sandown on Saturday. After winning three previous Group-1 races against his own age group, including the Dewhurst S. at Newmarket, the French 1000 Guineas at Longchamp and the French Derby at Chantilly, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt made a mockery of older rivals, chief among them Saudi Cup-G1 and Dubai Sheema Classic-G1 winner Mishriff, while producing the type of acceleration two furlongs out that only the great ones possess.
The French-bred son of Siyouni must now be rated the best horse in Europe, if not the entire planet, and would be a wonderful addition to any Breeders’ Cup field, though he may very well have other fish to fry overseas in the fall. “Of all the times we’ve trained horses through all the years, I can’t remember that we’ve had (a performance) like that,” said O’Brien.
2 – A critical race at Belmont Park for older horses, the 10F Suburban S.-G2, offered a rematch of the first two finishers from the 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup-G1, the unbeaten Happy Saver, and the Dubai World Cup-G1 winner Mystic Guide. But over a sloppy sealed surface that neither appeared to grab, it was Max Player (not Maxfield) who sprung the upset in a race that proved little other than the winner’s affinity for a muddy track.
A distant third in both the Belmont S.-G1 and the Travers S.-G1 last summer and then nowhere to be found in his four most recent races (including a 24-length drubbing to the aforementioned Mishriff in Saudi Arabia), the son of Honor Code was game in victory but earned only a 101 Beyer speed figure, an indication that the others ran down to his level, not the other way around. Attached to the victory is an all-expense paid ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Classic-G1 at Del Mar. But there will be no rain on the first Saturday in November in San Diego county.
3 – A legitimate Grade-1 front-runner such as Breeders’ Cup Mile-G1 winner Knicks Go facing a handful of thoroughly outclassed rivals that have no chance to apply even a modest amount of early pressure is the perfect recipe for the easily predictable outcome of the 9F Prairie Meadows Cornhusker-G3 Friday evening. His 10 length margin of victory manufactured a career-top 113 Beyer Speed Figure while reaffirming what trainer Brad Cox said after the 5-year-old son of Paynter finished a fading fourth at 4/5 in the Met Mile in early June. “He’s a two-turn horse, was Cox’s simple but entirely accurate explanation.
Now, with 21 races on his resume, Knick’s Go clearly has established one other indisputable characteristic: when facing top class company; he is a dyed-in-the-wool need-the-lead type. Though unproven at 10 furlongs – but certain to stay the trip under pristine conditions – he could very well resurface at Del Mar August 21 for the $750,000 Pacifica Classic-G1 in what would serve as a dress rehearsal for the Breeders’ Cup Classic-G1 that will be staged over that same course and distance 11 weeks later. Mystic Guide could be headed in the same direction, as well.
4 – It’s the time of the year when we’re inclined to seek out potentially high-class, late-developing 3-year-olds – those that weren’t ready or seasoned enough for the Triple Crown – to make an impact in the sophomore ranks and perhaps even steal an Eclipse Award, such as what Arrogate did a few years back. While he’s nowhere near that level just yet, First Captain will have his chance to establish championship credentials at Saratoga, with the 10F Travers S.-G1 his late-summer goal. Unbeaten in three starts but yet to race farther than a mile, the son of Curlin, at 40 cents on the dollar, was workmanlike when grinding out a one and three-quarter length victory in the Dwyer S.-G3 at Belmont Park on Monday. The Beyer speed figure was a just okay 90, a career low.
However, Shug’s colt has a pedigree to excel over a classic distance and farther. In as division which currently has Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie squarely at the top, a new shooter such as this $1.5 million yearling purchase, may still be capable of bringing fresh blood and new life to a division that remains there for the taking.
5 – Gamine has been beaten just once in nine starts. She failed to see out the nine-furlong trip in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks-G1 when third (and then subsequently disqualified for a bad test) but has been otherwise perfect, most recently coasting home to register a 10-length romp in the 6.5F Great Lady M. S.-G2 at Los Alamitos on Monday. In any other year, she’d probably be sent to Saratoga, where she won the 2020 Test S.-G1 by seven lengths, but a trip to New York isn’t currently an option for trainer Bob Baffert. We anticipate Gamine will remain in the West and be given a run, perhaps two, to prepare to defend her title in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint-G1.
The Rancho Bernardo (Aug. 20) at Del Mar logically would be next, but that race is just a Grade-3 with a $100,000 guaranteed purse and will be carded under handicap conditions, so you have to wonder just how much weight she’d be asked to carry in order to make the race competitive. Facing males eight days later in the 7F Pat O’Brien for twice the purse money (it’s a win-and-your-in race, too) might be a better option, especially under the 122 lb. impost she would carry, according to the conditions of the race.
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