Big Brown adding to Claiborne legacy
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It's a dream scenario for most stud farms to have one of their sires' colts on the verge of winning the Triple Crown. But it's bittersweet for Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., because Big Brown's sire has been pensioned since 2005.
Big Brown's Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins can't give Boundary much commercial boost, but he does add luster to the farm's long record of success in the Triple Crown races. He is the 15th Kentucky Derby winner conceived at the Hancock family's farm, and six of those have gone on to win the Triple Crown - so far.
"It's great for Boundary, it's great for Claiborne, and it's been fun," said Bernie Sams, who handles stallion marketing for the historic stud farm. "With Big Brown out there right now, you'd love to have him standing at stud, obviously. But he is going to be 19, too, so it isn't like he's a young horse.
"He was a good, solid sire," Sams said of Boundary, an 18-year-old Danzig horse who now enjoys life in a pasture at Claiborne's Marchmont division. "He was a nice horse for $10,000. Unfortunately, fertility issues caught up with him."
But Boundary has done well with the opportunities he had. "If you look at his record, he has about 400 foals in 10 crops," Sams said. "From a limited opportunity, he sired 23 stakes winners and 60 stakes horses. Their earnings are $30 million, so they average about $90,000 per starter. That puts him on a par with the likes of Unbridled and Distorted Humor."
What has surprised many, including Sams, is that Big Brown has been such a strong performer beyond a mile. Boundary never won beyond six furlongs, and Danzig's maximum winning distance was seven furlongs. Boundary's dam, the Grade 3-winning Damascus mare Edge, won once at 1 1/16 miles, by a nose, but her other three victories came over six and 6 1/2 furlongs.
"You would never have guessed he'd get a 1 1/4-mile horse, let alone a 1 1/2-mile horse, if Big Brown wins the Belmont," Sams said of Boundary.
If Big Brown does win the Belmont Stakes and become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, the accomplishment will reflect well on three-time leading sire Danzig, who stood his entire career at Claiborne and died in 2006. It might also give a boost to an active stallion on Claiborne's roster, War Front. Like Boundary, he is a son of Danzig, and he stands close to Boundary's price range with a 2008 fee of $12,500.
"Danzig and sons of Danzig have done well," Sams said. "Langfuhr got Lawyer Ron. Belong to Me is a good sire. Danehill has been a great sire. It's a commercial line that is also a successful line at the racetrack. It tends to get good-looking individuals, and they can run.
"War Front is a carbon copy of his father. Hopefully, War Front will fill in where Boundary left off."
Chelokee recovering nicely
Chelokee, Centennial Farms' Grade 3 winner who broke down in Churchill's Alysheba Stakes on May 2, continues to make good progress, his owners report.
A 4-year-old Cherokee Run colt, Chelokee dislocated his right front ankle in the race and underwent surgery on May 5 at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington. The surgery, performed by Dr. Larry Bramlage, fused bones in the colt's ankle and replaced ligaments in the back of the foreleg.
On May 19, Bramlage removed Chelokee's cast to evaluate the limb and noted that "for the most part we are in good shape," according to an update Centennial Farms issued Thursday.
"Most importantly, the coronary band is intact and healthy, and the foot appears to have survived the period of reduced vascularity without serious damage," Bramlage said. "The incisions are well healed, and there are no soft areas indicating infection of the implants or deeper structures."
Bramlage has since replaced the cast with no complications.
"His cast leaves his toe exposed, so he gets a small amount of tendon motion with each step, but immobilizes the fetlock," Bramlage said.
Chelokee probably will wear the cast for about two weeks. Centennial also said the colt is no longer on antibiotics and has a normal temperature.
"The staff at Rood and Riddle report he is eating every oat and still begs for carrots and peppermints," said Centennial president Don Little, Jr. "A few of his partners stayed behind in Kentucky and visited him daily during the initial days after the injury. They were amazed by the many cards and gifts he received from the public."
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Smart Strike among 22 nominees for entry into Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Smart Strike, who set a single-season world record for earnings by his progeny in 2007, was among 22 nominees named Wednesday for entry into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Smart Strike tops the list of six thoroughbreds nominated. Also named for consideration were four standardbreds and 12 people. Smart Strike, owned by Sam-Son Farms of Milton, Ont., dominated the sire list in North America as his offspring earned more than $14 million. A Group 1 stakes winner and half-brother to champion Dance Smartly, Smart Strike is now 16 years old and stands at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Ky.
Other thoroughbreds nominated were Triple Crown winners Peteski ('93) and Wando ('04).
Trainer Robert Tiller, a three-time Sovereign Award winner, heads a list of three trainers nominated. Joining him for consideration are veterans David Forster and R.A. (Red) McKenzie.
Nominated in the Veterans category are Louis Cauz, a Sovereign Award winning writer and the curator of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame; Gustav Schickedanz, the breeder and owner of Triple Crown winner Wando, Queen's Plate winner Woodcarver and the successful sire, Langfuhr; and Bruce Walker, who spent 30 years as the Publicity Director of the Ontario Jockey Club.
Among the Standarbred nominees is Peaceful Way, a four-time O'Brien Award winner and Canada's top trotter with over $3.2 million in earnings.
This year's Hall of Fame class will be announced May 20. The induction ceremony will be held Aug. 28.
Copyright (c) 2008 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Prado Looking for More Derby Magic
Edgar Prado, who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby with Barbaro, will try to add another Derby victory to his resume when he rides Adriano on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
"I think his chances are great," Prado said Tuesday. "He is a nice horse, he is well bred for the quarter distance. We'll see if he will be able to handle it in the dirt at Churchill Downs."
Prado, 40, will be inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame on August 4. He has won more than 6,000 races but said one of his greatest thrills was riding Barbaro to a six-and-a-half-length victory in the Derby.
"I think winning the Derby is something very special, you know, something that nobody can take away from you," said Prado, who also won the Eclipse Award as the top jockey of 2006.
He also won the Belmont Stakes in 2002 with Sarava and 2004 with Birdstone, stopping Triple Crown attempts by War Emblem and Smarty Jones. In his book, "My Guy Barbaro," Prado said he was proud of those Belmont victories even though some writers were calling him "the Triple Crown killer."
Prado, who is one of 11 children, credits his upbringing for his success. His father, Jose, is an animal lover who was a groom and an assistant trainer at Monterrico racetrack in Lima, Peru. He taught him about racing at an early age. His mother, Zenaida, who died shortly before he won the Derby, taught him about life.
"My mother taught me the basics, about how to take care of myself and how to be proud of what I am, no matter what I am," he said. "And no matter how poor you are, you always can be a decent person.
"She told me just keep fighting and hold onto your dreams. And almost everything is possible."
When Barbaro broke down at the Preakness, he said he relied on his mother's wisdom and courage to get through it.
"You cannot look back, you have to always look forward and think that tomorrow is a new beginning, another day, another bright light that you have to live for. I have that stuck in my head, and I tried to apply it."
So what does Prado think about this year's Derby field?
"It's a very equal group of horses," Prado said. "It's not really, really outstanding.
"There are a couple of horses that look good, but they have to run the race first."
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Hangin' at Home With Rags to Riches
One year ago, Rags to Riches was a superstar on the racetrack and the favorite to win the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). Today, she is an expectant mother spending her retirement days at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
Rags to Riches, owned by Michael Tabor, an associate of Coolmore Stud principal John Magnier, and trained by Todd Pletcher, was retired from racing March 24, and has been bred to Ashford stallion Giant's Causeway. She has been determined to be in-foal.
The beautiful, chestnut filly with the large white blaze has maintained her feisty attitude even in retirement. "She's mellowed out a lot, but things are much easier if we just do things her way" was the resounding comment when asked if the daughter of A.P. Indy had settled down since arriving at the farm.
Rags to Riches' day isn't unlike that of any other mare on a farm. After having breakfast, she is turned out alone in a large paddock from around 7 a.m. to mid-afternoon, and then she is brought back inside the barn, where she is again fed. Rags to Riches will receive a paddock buddy in the near future as she is eased into farm life.
In 2007, in addition to winning the Kentucky Oaks, Rags to Riches made history when she became only the third filly to win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), and the first to do so in 102 years. Rags to Riches out-dueled eventual 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin in a breathtaking stretch run to capture the third leg of the Triple Crown. She had five wins from six starts in 2007 and amassed career earnings of $1,340,028. She was honored with the Eclipse Award for outstanding 3-year-old filly of 2007.
Rags to Riches was sidelined last September after suffering a hairline fracture to her right front pastern during the running of the Gazelle Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park. She returned to Pletcher's barn at Palm Beach Downs earlier this year, where she resumed training before re-injuring herself.
By A.P. Indy, Rags to Riches is out of the grade II-winning Deputy Minister mare Better Than Honour, the 2007 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. A $1.9-million Keeneland September sale yearling, Rags to Riches is a half-sister to 2006 Belmont winner Jazil (by Seeking the Gold).
The other Oaks winners of this decade have all settled into their new careers as broodmares. Below is a list of the past seven Oaks winners and their locations.
2006-Lemons Forever (Lemon Drop Kid-Critikola, by Tough Critic) sold for $2.5 million at the 2007 Keeneland November mixed sale to Charles Fipke. She is kept at Darby Dan Farm and is currently in foal to Perfect Soul.
2005-Summerly (Summer Squall-Here I Go, by Mr. Prospector) sold for $3.3 million to Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt's WinStar Farm at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale. She foaled a Distorted Humor colt this year and is back in foal to that farm stallion.
2004-Ashado (Saint Ballado-Goulash, by Mari's Book) sold for $9 million to Sheikh Mohammed at the 2005 Keeneland November sale. Kept at Darley near Lexington, Ashado has a yearling Storm Cat colt and did not produce a foal for 2008. She is currently in foal to Street Cry for 2009.
2003-Bird Town (Cape Town-Dear Birdie, by Storm Bird). Owned by Marylou Whitney, Bird Town is the dam of four foals, including a Bernardini colt produced this year. Bird Town is kept at the Beck family's Gainesway Farm and has been bred to Awesome Again.
2002-Farda Amiga (Broad Brush-Fly North, by Pleasant Colony). Owned by Winners Silk and Old Friends and kept at the Taylor family's Taylor Made Farm near Nicholasville, Ky., Farda Amiga is due to foal an offspring by Storm Cat any day and has been booked to Smart Strike.
2001-Flute (Seattle Slew-Rouguer, by Blushing Groom). Owned by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, Flute is the dam of six foals, including a yearling Empire Maker filly. She foaled a Maria's Mon filly this year. She is currently in foal to Gone West.
2000-Secret Status (A.P. Indy-Private Status, by Alydar). Secret Status is the dam of six foals, including Objectivity (by Storm Cat) who was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed for $6.3 million at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale. She is also the dam of Dunkirk (by Unbridled's Song), who was purchased by Irish bloodstock agent Demi O'Byrne for $3.7 million at the 2007 Keeneland September sale. Neither colt has started. Secret Status, kept by her owner, William S. Farish, at his Lane's End Farm, has a yearling Ghostzapper colt and produced a Dynaformer colt this year. She is in foal to Unbridled's Song.
Copyright (c) 2008 The Blood-Horse, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Gai Waterhouse declares classy colt Sebring as Triple Crown material
GAI Waterhouse yesterday declared unbeaten colt Sebring was not only Golden Slipper but Triple Crown material following a Randwick trial win.
Seven of the 10 shareholders in the colt attended the trials and watched Sebring make his rivals look second rate in a 740m workout.
Sebring raced wide throughout on Waterhouse's instructions. She directed Blake Shinn to find the best ground on the More Than Ready colt.
On a track rated slow to heavy, Sebring ran 43.2sec and Shinn was content to let him find the line under his own steam.
"I couldn't have been happier with Sebring," Waterhouse said.
"He's a seriously good horse and there's no doubt he is now the one to beat in the Slipper."
Unbeaten in three starts and three trials, Sebring has been under a cloud following a minor illness that required antibiotic treatment.
"He had a raised temperature and Gai decided to give him the antibiotics to be on the safe side," syndicator Denis Martin said. "His blood has always been normal and all the owners are very excited."
The 10 shareholders, who include Gold Coast real estate agents David and Luke Henderson, knocked back two offers for Sebring.
"One of the offers was for a half share in the horse and the other was for a percentage with standing rights," Martin said.
"The owners include a retired gentleman, a woman who imports kitchenware and three bankers. It is a real cross-section but they all get along well and meet regularly over meals. They don't want to sell the horse at the moment."
Sebring cost $143,000 (including GST) at the Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast but because of the horse flu he was a late starter.
"After he won the Canonbury it was decided to bypass the Magic Millions and concentrate on the Golden Slipper," Martin said.
"My father was an old football coach in Tasmania and his great saying was one game at a time. The Triple Crown would be nice but we will look at it after each race."
Waterhouse is delaying a decision to start Magic Millions runner-up She's Meaner at Rosehill on Saturday.
Magic Millions winner Augusta Proud pulled up well after a pre-dawn workout at Randwick.
Trainer Leon Macdonald is confident about a Slipper start on April 19.
(c) Queensland Newspapers.
Two fillies nominated to Triple Crown
Ten 3-year-olds, including a pair of fillies, were announced on Monday by Triple Crown Productions as late nominees to the Triple Crown, bringing the overall number this year to 459, one below the record of 460 set last year.
A total of 449 horses were nominated at a cost of $600 by the early deadline of Jan. 19. The additional 10 were nominated by a deadline Saturday, but it cost the owners of those horses $6,000 to be eligible to the May 3 Kentucky Derby, May 17 Preakness Stakes, and June 7 Belmont Stakes.
Most notable among the late nominees are Eight Belles and Proud Spell, fillies trained by Larry Jones, who finished second in last year's Derby with Hard Spun.
The eight males are Barrier Reef, Big Glen, Hey Byrn, Jazz in the Park, Kinsale King, My Pal Charlie, Rosso Corsa, and Spurrier.
Rosso Corsa is scheduled to run in the Santa Anita Derby, and Spurrier in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, both on Saturday.
Copyright (c)2008 ESPN Internet Ventures
Steeplechase Triple Crown kicks off in South Carolina
The Steeplechase Triple Crown kicks off Saturday in South Carolina when six Thoroughbreds meet the starter in the Grade 2, $75,000 Carolina Cup.
Contested over 2 1/8 miles, the 76th renewal at Springdale Race Course in Camden has lured a competitive field of novice runners who hope to use the storied race as a launching pad to stakes success.
Augustin Stable's Imagina (Jody Petty, 146 pounds) is a 6-year-old mare and Sanna Hendriks trainee who quickly advanced up the ladder in 2007 after taking a distaff maiden hurdle at Camden last spring. While racing with her gender she won two stakes, the Valentine Memorial at Fair Hill and the Peapack at Far Hills. Though it's rare for a female to take on the males, especially in the novice division, Hendriks isn't exactly bringing a water pistol to a gun fight.
"The fillies don't run too often with the boys so it's hard to gauge where they fit in, but she has been training right along in the morning with some of our better geldings. She's won over the course as well, and that's a good thing too," Hendriks said. "She seems like she's doing good; she's been happy and going right along. We're taking a shot and it's a step up, but she has a lot of experience."
With the filly/mare stakes season not getting in full swing until later in the spring, Hendriks was left with a fit and talented mare who was ready to run. With 2007 NSA novice champion Planets Aligned passing the race to head to Atlanta and the Georgia Cup, Hendriks' decision looks all the wiser.
"I looked at the condition book and there really wasn't a filly/mare stakes until Nashville, and she didn't run well over that course last year, so I thought 'What the heck? It's a lot of money, so let's take a shot,'" Hendriks said. "Hearing Planets Aligned is out is the best news I've heard all day; he was definitely the favorite. She'll just sit back and make a run; that's her thing."
Petty, aboard for the Chilean-bred's three wins in 2007, gets the return call.
Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, who will saddle six horses on the card, sends out Calvin Houghland's 7-year-old Dr. Bloomer (James Slater, 148). After breaking his maiden last July at Colonial Downs, the gelding was sent to a pair of novice stakes at Saratoga, where he ran credibly, checking in fourth and fifth. A fall in the Grade 2 Somerset at the Meadowlands was the low point of the year but he quickly reasserted himself with a solid third behind Gliding and Planets Aligned in the Grade 1 Foxbrook at Far Hills. Sheppard looks forward to running Dr. Bloomer over the quick Springdale course.
"This is a fairly tough spot, but he's a speed horse, and therefore I think he might be well-suited to a course like Camden," Sheppard said. "He's not quite at peak fitness, but he gets a lot out of his routine gallops as he's a hard puller. He ended the season good at Callaway and he's filled out and looks good."
Gil Johnston's Swagger Stick (Xavier Aizpuru, 148) doesn't bring the credentials the top pair do, but he was an accomplished horse on the flat when trained by Graham Motion, running in several graded stakes. Now in Jack Fisher's care, the 7-year-old son of Cozzene has proven a quick study. After losing Aizpuru in a maiden at Shawan Downs last September, only his second start over hurdles, he came back to easily defeat a Callaway maiden field in November. Though this will be his first start against winners, he did take a training flat race last week at Aiken, which tells Fisher Swagger Stick is ready.
"He won pretty easy at Aiken, but he was supposed to win. Him winning makes me feel better about his fitness. If he wasn't running on at the end we would have to rethink where we're at with him," Fisher said. "I kept him over the winter and he got back going around Jan. 1. He was a pretty nice horse on the flat and his problem wasn't his jumping. The first time at Shawan he threw his rider, and then we were going to try him at Far Hills in the mud but we didn't want to do that to him. I like him a lot, he's talented. His problem will be his inexperience against a horse like Dr. Bloomer."
C R's Deputy (Paddy Young, 138) will attempt to parlay his 3-year-old championship into success at 4 when he takes on his elders for the first time for trainer Chuck Lawrence. While the Barracuda Stable star spots experience to his five rivals, his talent could make up for it. In only his second hurdle start, the son of Deputy Commander won the $50,000 Gladstone in flag-to-wire fashion over a boggy Far Hills course, clinching the championship in the process.
He closed his campaign with a second in the Woolfe Memorial at Camden in the fall. Long Lane Farm's Swimming River (Robbie Walsh, 151) goes for trainer Paul Rowland. The 6-year-old son of The Wicked North distinguished himself with a solid third against open company last fall in the Grade 3 Appleton at Far Hills, behind Party Airs and Preemptive Strike, who won the Imperial Cup last weekend.
A two-time winner in 2007, he fits in nicely under the conditions having broken his maiden March 11 of last year. Red Letter Day (Bernie Dalton, 148), for owner Greg Hawkins and trainer Janet Elliot, rounds out the Carolina Cup field. A maiden winner last spring at Charlotte, where he defeated future stakes winner Divine Fortune, the 5-year-old was only three-quarters of a length behind Swagger Stick in the Aiken training race.
The Steeplechase Triple Crown is for "novice" hurdlers, in their first or second year of racing over fences. Experience-wise, they are the equivalent of 3-year-olds on the flat. By definition, horses cannot have won over hurdles before March 1, 2007.
The field for Saturday's $75,000 Carolina Cup (Grade 2-Novice) with jockey, owner and trainer:
1. C R's Deputy, Paddy Young, Barracuda Stable, Chuck Lawrence
2. Swimming River, Robbie Walsh, Long Lane Farm, Paul Rowland
3. Swagger Stick, Xavier Aizpuru, Gil Johnston, Jack Fisher
4. Dr. Bloomer, James Slater, Calvin Houghland, Jonathan Sheppard
5. Imagina (CHI), Jody Petty, Augustin Stable, Sanna Hendriks
6. Red Letter Day, Bernie Dalton, Gregory Hawkins, Janet Elliot
All told, six races with purses totaling $170,000 are on tap at Camden. A $25,000 maiden hurdle gets the chase action started in the second race, followed by a $20,000 allowance timber in the third that lured veterans Woodmont, Across The Sky and Straight Path. The fourth, a $30,000 allowance hurdle, tests stalwarts Sovereign Duty and Pleasant Pick. Post time for the first race is 1:30 p.m. ET.
The Carolina Cup was run as an open stakes from its inception in 1930 through 2005 and counts stars Zaccio, Lonesome Glory and Sur La Tete among its winners. Prior to 1968, the race was run over timber. It was restricted to novice runners in 2006 and run as the first leg of the Steeplechase Triple Crown. The second jewel will be run at Middleburg on April 19 with the Temple Gwathmey, and the series concludes at Radnor with the National Hunt Cup on May 17.
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