blog.indianracing.in

Zenyatta punctuated both an undefeated season and the first-ever Ladies’ Day championship program with an emphatic 1 1/2-length victory in the $1,832,000 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1) on Friday at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita Park.

Jerry and Ann Moss’s four-year-old Street Cry (Ire) filly swept wide around the far turn and had no problem disposing of seven opponents in the $2-million race. Cocoa Beach (Chi) rallied from the inside to be second with her Godolphin Stable stablemate Music Note another 1 1/2 lengths back in third.

The win was Zenyatta’s ninth in as many starts. Despite her 1-to-2 odds, trainer John Shirreffs said he only expressed confidence in her victory when the race went official.

“When she hits that next gear, she’s just something else,” Shirreffs said of Zenyatta’s move around the far turn. “That was Zenyatta’s race. I didn’t count on victory until she crossed the wire, though.”

Longshot Bear Now set the pace in the 1 1/8-mile race through fractions of :23.71, :48.08, and 1:11.08 before yielding to the Godolphin horses. Zenyatta, with Racing Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith aboard, quickly pounced on them turning for home and surged past under a hand ride to prevail in 1:46.85 on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface.

“I was second best today, it’s as simple as that,” jockey Ramon Dominguez said after Cocoa Beach failed to keep pace with Zenyatta in the lane. “Zenyatta’s a special filly.”

Music Note’s jockey Javier Castellano agreed and said that his filly ran well but was no match for Zenyatta in the stretch.

Depending on what reigning Horse of the Year Curlin does in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Saturday, Zenyatta could receive some consideration for the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year with champion older female honors all but wrapped up.

“I think it’s not in our hands, to tell you the truth. Obviously, we’ve been reading about the possibility,” Jerry Moss said of Horse of the Year speculation. “Look, we’re just thrilled that she’s won this race, and she seems to be at the top of her division rather firmly. I mean, to have, if I may say it, a champion, is a pretty ultimate thrill for us.”

Bred in Kentucky by Maverick Production Ltd., Zenyatta improved to nine wins in as many starts and boosted her earnings to $2,144,580. A half sister tio multiple Grade 1 winner Balance, she is out of the winning Kris S. mare Vertigineux.

Other impressive Kentucky-bred winners on the day were Stardom Bound in the $1,832,000 Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Forever Together in the $1,951,080 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1).

Stardom Bound, a two-year-old filly by Tapit out of the Tarr Road mare My White Corvette, won her third straight Grade 1 race in the Juvenile Fillies and virtually locked up the two-year-old filly championship. Stardom Bound was purchased earlier this year by trainer Chris Paasch on behalf of owner Charles Cono for $375,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of selected two-year-olds in training.

Forever Together, a four-year-old by Belong to Me out of Constant Companion, by Relaunch, was bred by White Fox Farm and purchased by owner George Strawbridge for $240,000 at the 2006 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of selected two-year-olds in training.

The remaining Kentucky-bred winners were Karen Woods’s and Saud bin Khaled’s Maram, a homebred two-year-old filly by Sahm in the $1,035,080 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; and Juddmonte Farm’s Ventura, a homebred four-year-old filly by Chester House who won the $916,000 Sentient Flight Group Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Santa Anita Park’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface produced a consistent stream of winners who rallied wide from off the pace , the first time the Breeders’ Cup World Championships were held on a synthetic track.

Through the first six main track races—which included all the Breeders’ Cup races contested on the Pro-Ride surface—every winner was at least three wide on the turn and all were third or further back in the field at the second point of call.

Jockey Garrett Gomez rode Ventura to win the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint with a five-wide rally, coming from tenth place after four furlongs.

“It just seems like the ones who like [Pro-Ride], like it,” Gomez said. “It hasn’t been playing like this previously. I don’t know if the track changed.

“Zenyatta come from off the pace. Ventura come from off the pace. Stardom Bound come from off the pace. I think maybe they were just the best.”

All the winners had previous wins on a synthetic track or turf. Gomez’s mount in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1), Hystericalady, extended her winless record on synthetic tracks to six races.

For a video replay of the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, click here: http://breederscup.com/video.aspx?id=36165 

Courtesy: www.thorughbredtimes.com

A racing awards ceremony, on the lines of the time tested film and business awards, will be held at Pune on Saturday hosted by The O Hotels, with support from the RWITC. Vivek Jain, Chairman of the Jury, stated, “Its a unique event for us and a ceremony of this type was long overdue. Its a beginning and we hope to emulate this season after season.”

Awards under several categories will be presented based on objective criteria, the norms being fixed by a jury comprising

Vivek Jain, Geoffrey Nagpal, Ashwin Mehta and Gautam Kotwal. The formula adopted by the Turf Authorities has been taken as a guideline.

An interesting dimension has been to give awards to the “small” owner (defined as owners with 10 or fewer horses) and “small” trainer (defined as 20 or fewer horses) Prizes for champion sire, filly and juvenile will add a special dimension.

Another innovation is determing champion juvenile by a public participation poll, by e mails and nomination forms on race days.

O Hotels will also  present four special awards for lifetime achievement, leadership excellence, contribution to racing and the legendary trainer award.

A huge congregation from the racing world will join in the celebrations at a glittering ceremony at the O Banquet Hall on Saturday.

The recent retirement of Big Brown has largely shifted the race for Horse of the Year from a showdown to a solo act for Curlin in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Saturday at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita Park.

A victory would make Curlin a strong candidate to be voted Horse of the Year for the second year in a row. That accomplishment would place the Smart Strike colt in the same company as Secretariat (1972-’73), Forego (’74-’76), Affirmed (‘78-’79), and Cigar (1995-’96) as recipients of consecutive Horse of the Year honors since the Eclipse Awards were first presented in 1971.

John Henry is the only horse with a gap between title reigns—he was Horse of the Year in 1981 and ’84.

While Curlin has the obstacle of transferring his dirt form to Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride synthetic surface in the Classic, his owner, Jess Jackson, believes the colt has already done enough to be considered Horse of the Year, no matter how he fares on Saturday.

“We think he’s already accomplished Horse of the Year, but it’s up to you guys to tell us whether a proud owner is right or not,” Jackson said last week in a media teleconference.

Michael Iavarone of Big Brown’s majority owner, IEAH Stables, thinks the dual classic winner would have a shot at Horse of the Year if Curlin falters in the Classic.

“Obviously, if Curlin wins, it’s over,” Iavarone said. “If Curlin doesn’t run his race, I think Big Brown would have a shot. Their achievements are very similar. You can’t discount Big Brown for running in the races he was supposed to run in. If he got to this race, we would have given him a shot, but at the end of the day, he won four Grade 1s and a $500,000 grass race. I think he’s very much deserving of being right up there with Curlin. But I guess sometimes it comes down to a popularity contest, and we’re not going to win too many of those.”
 
Zenyatta could also thrust herself into the mix if she remains undefeated with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1) on Friday and Curlin fails to fire in the Classic.

Bill Casner, co-owner of Travers Stakes Presented by Shadwell Farm (G1) winner Colonel John, is not expecting the championship picture for three-year-old male to be impacted by the Classic.

“Say if a three-year-old wins the Classic, I think Big Brown still gets it,” Casner said. “I think if Big Brown would have been in the race and got beat heads up, that would have been different. I think he’s safe.”

Many of the other Eclipse Awards will be up for grabs on Friday and Saturday. Among the more wide-open divisions, titles will likely be decided in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1), and the sprint and two-year-old races on the synthetic main track.

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

ZENYATTA 

The stage is set for the richest two days in racing history after 159 horses received entry on Tuesday for the expanded Breeders’ Cup World Championships program on Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita Park.

Fittingly, the all-time North American-raced earner, Curlin, will be at the center of the fray as the 7-to-5 favorite on the morning line for the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), which will cap 14 races worth a total of $25.5-million.

Curlin’s presence exemplifies the ‘X’ factor for Santa Anita’s new synthetic Pro-Ride surface, which will be showcased in the eight Breeders’ Cup races on the main track.

The Smart Strike colt has trained at Santa Anita for nearly a month, but trainer Steve Asmussen still considers the surface a huge question mark as Curlin seeks to join Tiznow as the only two-time Classic winner.

“The percentage of horses that do their best on synthetic I think is questionable, and that’s what we’re waiting to see,” Asmussen said on Tuesday.

Asmussen said he had a similar question in his mind prior to Curlin’s turf trial in the Man o’ War Stakes (G1) on July 12, which resulted in his lone defeat since last August.

“[It is] a similar feeling,” Asmussen said. “Identical, no; similar, yes. … We’re talking about Curlin because of his accomplishments on the dirt, so of course that is where all the questions come from.”

Curlin drew post position nine in a field of 12 for the Classic, which has an even more confounding makeup with five-time Group 1 winner Duke of Marmalade (Ire), English and Irish classic winner Henrythenavigator, and Group 1 winner Raven’s Pass all switching from the turf for their North American debuts.

The pace scenario also is a potential hurdle for Curlin following the defections of two of the speedier candidates, Grade 1 winners Mast Track and Well Armed, to the TVG Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

“Absolutely,” Asmussen said of a concern over a lack of pace. “You start concerning yourself with everything from this point on. Like we say, we worry about what we can control. Curlin is in capable hands with [jockey Robby Albarado]. He knows him best from that position.”

Undefeated Grade 1 winner Zenyatta is the shortest-priced on the morning line for any of the Breeders’ Cup races at 3-to-5 for the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1), the marquee event of the first Ladies’ Day card on Friday.

Zenyatta will bid for her eighth straight victory in a deep field of eight that includes Ginger Punch and Hystericalady, who finished first and second in a tight finish last year when the race was called the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

“This is a very high-quality field and it’s going to be a great race,” said John Shirreffs, the trainer of Zenyatta for owners Jerry and Ann Moss. “All these races against Grade 1 horses are never easy.

“I’ve had a lot of nice horses and some really nice fillies,” Shirreffs continued. “Usually a horse has something of an Achilles heel, something that may bother them. With Zenyatta, she never has those kind of things. She does everything so well. … How could you not be excited? This filly is 3-to-5, undefeated, all the media wants to know about her, talk about her. It’s just so exciting to be around a horse going into a race like this.”

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

 Monday is generally workout day for the top horses in trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn, and there was no deviation five days out from the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) as Asmussen sent out Curlin, Student Council, and Pyro one-by-one for their final serious preparations for North America’s richest race.

Curlin breezed four furlongs in :49.60 in his third workout on Santa Anita Park’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface. The Smart Strike colt was back to his normal routine after breezing in between races at Santa Anita on October 13.

Asmussen is methodically trying to cover all the bases in preparing Curlin for an attempt at a repeat win in the Classic with the added twist of a surface change.

“I’m just gathering all the information I can,” Asmussen said several times on Monday morning.

Asmussen’s devotion to detail is nothing new, but the stakes are especially high as Curlin gets a chance to add to his sparkling resume by joining Tiznow as the only two-time Classic winner.

“That’s the task at hand and that’s what we’re here for,” Asmussen said. “The huge variable is to do it on a different surface.”

Asmussen, assistant trainer Scott Blasi, and exercise rider Carlos Rosas have all been encouraged with what they have seen so far, particularly in Curlin’s level of comfort since he arrived at Santa Anita on September 28.

Curlin was the first three-year-old since Tiznow to win the Classic, and Asmussen feels he has matured physically and in his approach to racing during the last year.

“[He has] a lot better understanding of what the game is,” Asmussen said. “Last year, he was very raw but tremendously talented. It looked like [jockey Robby Albarado] was doing a lot of guiding, a lot of navigation for him. This year, he seems to understand the races a lot better. … He’s just matured from somewhat of a gangly teenager to a full-blown professional.”

The Classic will be Student Council’s first start in 62 days since a fifth-place finish in the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) on August 24 and his last race before he retires to owner Ro Parra’s Millennium Farms in Lexington for the 2009 breeding season.

The six-year-old Kingmambo horse won last year’s Pacific Classic on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Del Mar, and he scored his lone victory this year in the Pimlico Special Handicap (G1) on the dirt at Pimlico Race Course.

Asmussen said Student Council was “more than a handful” in breezing four furlongs in :48 on Monday.

“He seems extremely sharp coming off a 60-day layoff,” Asmussen said. “He’s sharpened up tremendously and has been very strong. I feel like he’s sitting on a huge race. He looks great and has been going over the ground very well. He does have a Grade 1 win on a synthetic track to fall back on, so you’re sure he’s going to perform at his best.”

Pyro also was pre-entered in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, but Asmussen confirmed that the three-year-old colt will start in the Classic. Jockey Julien Leparoux will replace Shaun Bridgmohan, who will stick with Student Council.

Pyro finished second from post 12 as the favorite in the Indiana Derby (G2) on October 4 at Hoosier Park. The Pulpit colt finished tenth as the even-money favorite in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) in his only previous start on a synthetic surface. He breezed four furlongs in :51.20 on Monday.

“With him doing very well physically, we felt that he deserved a chance at a mile and a quarter again,” Asmussen said. “The synthetic surface is a huge question mark with him because, of his disappointing Blue Grass. But, one thing we found with the synthetics is that Polytrack isn’t Pro-Ride and we’ll go from there.” 

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

Her Royal Highness Princess Haya of Jordan’s New Approach ran his last and arguably most impressive race on Saturday when destroying his rivals by six lengths in the Gr.1 Champion Stakes at Newmarket’s Champion’s Day meeting. He is now set to embark on his new career as a stallion at Darley’s Dalham Hall Stud.

Galileo, he cemented his title of Champion Two-Year-Old this time last year when winning the Dewhurst and clearly likes the Rowley Mile course, having finished a close second in the 2,000 Guineas on his seasonal debut.

Bolger may have handed on one of his stable stars but he already has a new project. The canny trainer landed his third successive Dewhurst yesterday when his wife’s Intense Focus (Giant’s Causeway) just got up to land the big two-year-old race from Lord Shanakill (Speightstown) and Finjaan (Royal Applause).

The continued rise of Cape Cross’ daughter Crystal Capella reaped even greater rewards when she took the inaugural running of the Gr.2 Pride Stakes. Finishing second on her first two starts, she has now rattled off five wins in increasingly tougher company.

Choisir’s three-year-old son Stimulation brought his season to a close in good style when landing the Gr.2 Challenge Stakes. Racing on the far side rail, he got the better of Cat Junior (Storm Cat) to win by a length and a quarter. Bred by Illuminatus Investments, he was bought by Amanda Skiffington for 92,000gns at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Part Two. His trainer Hughie Morrison revealed that he is to stay in training next year with the Gr.1 Lockinge and the Queen Anne his likely early season targets.The Mick Channon trained Lahaleeb (Redback) swooped to take the Gr.2 Rockfel Stakes. The two-yearold filly, racing on the stands’ side, took the lead with a furlong to go and ran on well to score cosily by two and a quarter lengths.

CURLIN

Defending Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Curlin headlines a cast of 180 horses pre-entered in the 25th Breeders’ Cup World Championships on October 24 and 25 at Santa Anita Park.

The expansion this year from 11 to 14 races produced an average of 12.85 horses per race, a shade better than last year’s average of 12.82 pre-entered horses for the inaugural two-day Breeders’ Cup program at Monmouth Park. The pre-entry total also is a slight improvement from an average of 12.62 pre-entered horses the last time the Breeders’ Cup came to Santa Anita in 2003.

This time, Santa Anita will break new ground with the first Breeders’ Cup races on a synthetic surface, which could account for the seven European-based horses pre-entered in the eight races contested on the main track.

Last year, the ill-fated George Washington (Ire) was the only European-based horse who competed in the seven Breeders’ Cup races on the Monmouth dirt.

Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has two shots for the Classic in five-time Group 1 winner Duke of Marmalade and English and Irish classic winner Henrythenavigator. O’Brien has ten Breeders’ Cup candidates overall, the most for any trainer and a record for a foreign-based trainer.

He could account for the favorite in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), with Soldier of Fortune scheduled to make the trip off a third-place finish in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) on October 5 at Longchamp.

Eleven of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races attracted full fields, including 21 for the inaugural Greg Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, a one-mile race with a cap of 12 starters.

The two other new races—the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and Breeders’ Cup Marathon—also lured full fields.

The Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (G1) drew the smallest group, with only eight pre-entries, but the former Breeders’ Cup Distaff will have plenty of star power with last year’s top two finishers, Ginger Punch and Hystericalady, respectively, set to take on the undefeated sensation Zenyatta.

The Classic overfilled with 16 pre-entries, including two of Curlin’s stablemates, Pyro and Student Council. Curlin, who has never raced on a synthetic surface, will seek to join Tiznow as the only two-time Classic winner.

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

JOHN SABINI

New York Racing and Wagering Board Chairman John Sabini said on Tuesday that he expects the state to have new restrictions on equine steroids in place for 2009.

Sabini said the rules, patterned after the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s model rule, should be in place by January 1. They will apply to all Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing in the state. Sabini believes the new policy will strengthen integrity.

“For the sake of the betting public, we want to do everything in our power to ensure that racing runs on a level playing field,” Sabini said. “By imposing rigid new limits on four steroids and banning all others, New York is taking a leadership role in promoting integrity in racing. The message to owners and trainers should be clear: If you flaunt our steroid rules, you will be held accountable.”

The new rules set testing thresholds for each of the four steroids that are permitted for therapeutic use out of racing and allow only one of the four to be found in a horse at any given time. The restricted steroids and the concentrations that are allowed are as follows: stanozolol, one nanogram per milliliter of urine; boldenone, for male horses other than geldings, 15 nanograms per milliliter; nandrolone, one nanogram per milliliter; and testosterone, 20 nanograms per milliliter in geldings and 55 nanograms per milliliter in fillies and mares.

Board members Daniel Hogan and John Simoni said the rule signals a step forward for integrity for New York racing. Sabini stressed that veterinarians are in agreement that the permitted small concentrations of the four specific steroids would not be enough to affect a horse’s performance.

“New York is one of the world’s greatest venues for racing, hosting the Belmont Stakes (G1), the oldest of the Triple Crown races, and a host of other major stakes contests in both the harness and Thoroughbred categories,” Sabini said. “A prosperous industry is good for the communities that host the tracks as well as for the entire state. That is why Governor David A. Paterson and I are fully committed to working closely with all the stakeholders involved with racing and taking the steps needed to help this storied ‘Sport of Kings’ grow and build on its base of fans.”

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

Horse of the Year Curlin will seek a repeat victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), majority owner Jess Jackson confirmed on Tuesday.

Jackson firmed up plans a day after Curlin breezed for the second time over Santa Anita Park’s Pro-Ride surface. Curlin has never raced on a synthetic surface.

“Everything is a go. Curlin showed yesterday that he embraces [the surface],” Jackson said. “I’m very pleased that he is going to run, and look forward to the competition. I hope that it’s a full field.”

Tiznow is the only horse to win the Classic twice, scoring in America’s richest dirt race in 2000 and ’01.

Earlier on Tuesday, trainer Steve Asmussen said Curlin came out of Monday’s move without any signs of difficulty.

“He looks great,” Asmussen said shortly after 7 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, adding that Curlin walked in the stable area early Tuesday morning.

 Breeders’ Cup Ltd. will announce pre-entries for all of the Breeders’ Cup World Championship races on Thursday.

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

The focus leading up to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) has been on Curlin’s uncertain participation, but dual classic winner Big Brown ended up being the key defector on Monday when he sustained a career-ending injury to his right front foot. The Boundary colt grabbed a quarter while breezing on the Aqueduct turf in company with Kip Deville, last year’s NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner.

Michael Iavarone, co-president of majority owner IEAH Stables, said Big Brown came out of the workout with a three-inch chunk missing from the bulb of his foot. The injury would require 60 to 90 days to heal, Iavarone said. IEAH and partners had already reached a deal in May for Big Brown to begin his stud career in 2009 at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky.

 “I’m devastated today,” Iavarone said. “It was everything that an owner could have dreamed of, to have a match-up between [Big Brown and Curlin] and actually own one of them. I felt going into it that we didn’t have a lot to lose, we had a lot to gain. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get our horse there in the right way. Words can’t really put it in its right place.”

Big Brown has battled foot problems throughout his career, most famously with a quarter crack in the left front foot prior to his failed Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 7. Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. insisted afterward that Big Brown’s Belmont performance had nothing to do with the foot problem. Dutrow estimated last month that Big Brown had endured five quarter cracks since last September. He missed 45 days of training this winter, including the entire month of January, because of a quarter crack in the right front, the same foot he injured on Monday. Iavarone said Big Brown had been fine physically in his preparation for the Classic.

“He worked great, and when he came out of the work, I was smiling, I walked back across the track, and I saw Rick had this look on his face of devastation and I couldn’t believe it,” Iavarone said. “He told me that he thought we were in big trouble with Big Brown. … It caught me by surprise. We usually have to watch everything this horse does. He had been going so good for us over the last four weeks, that the last thing we were expecting was for him to have an injury.”

Big Brown was retired with the Belmont as his lone defeat in an eight-race career, highlighted by a 4 ¾-length victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and a 5 ¼-length score in the Preakness Stakes (G1). He also won the Florida Derby (G1) by five lengths, the Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) in his first start since he was pulled up in the Belmont, and the Monmouth Stakes on September 13 in a turf prep for the Classic.

“Last night, my wife and I were up late and we were watching the replay of the Kentucky Derby and all the lead-up to it and it kind of brought a tear to my eye,” Iavarone said. “I turned to her and said, ‘Well, it’s not over yet. We still have one big one.’ The morning couldn’t have started any better, and it was like the weather changed.” Jess Jackson, owner of Horse of the Year Curlin, lamented that the two horses would not get to meet on the racetrack. “I have always said what an incredible horse Big Brown is and that the bay colt brought energy and excitement to our industry, especially during his run at the Triple Crown,” Jackson said in a statement. “I am equally disappointed that Big Brown and Curlin will never compete against each other. It was a dream of mine and thousands of other fans of the sport. Now, we all join together in wishing Big Brown a speedy recovery.”

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com