Posts Tagged ‘warrior’s reward’
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
By Ray Paulick
In this week’s American Graded Stakes standings brought to you by Keeneland, we’ll take a quick mid-season look at the Grade 1 stakes winners.
There have been 38 G1 races run in the United States thus far this year, won by 33 different horses, the only repeat winners being Zenyatta, with three, and Quality Road, Blind Luck, and Proviso, with two G1 wins each.
Where did those 33 runners come from? The vast majority, 23 of them, were bred in Kentucky. Virginia checked in second, with three G1 winners, Ireland and California have two each, with Florida, New York and Great Britain, at one each.
Nineteen of this year’s G1 winners were sold at public auction, with Keeneland’s September yearling sale dominating the results, having sold 12 of them. Taylor Made Sales Agency is the only consignor to have sold two G1 winners this year (Devil May Care and Drosselmeyer). The average price of a 2010 G1 winner sold at public auction is $218,421, with a median price of $160,000. (Note that these statistics do not include horses offered but either withdrawn or not sold. The prices used to calculate average and median is the most recent transaction for those horses sold more than one time.)
Medaglia d’Oro leads the way among sires of G1 winners, with three (Warrior’s Reward, Champagne d’Oro, and Gabby’s Golden Gal). Candy Ride, Malibu Moon, and Street Cry have two each.
Only two owners have won G1 races with more than one horse: Michael Talla (Crisp and Mona de Momma) and WinStar Farm (Super Saver, Drosselmeyer). No breeder has produced more than one G1 winner thus far in 2010.
Todd Pletcher has won six G1 races with five different horses to pace all trainers. John Sadler and John Shirreffs have won four G1 races each, Bob Baffert, Jerry Hollendorfer and Bill Mott winning three each. That means 23 of 38 G1 races run in 2010 (60%) have been won by one of six trainers.
Four jockeys have divided much of the G1 wealth, with Mike Smith leading the way with six wins (three on Zenyatta). John Velazquez, who is Pletcher’s No. 1 rider, has five, as does Martin Garcia. Rafael Bejarano has four. So the top four jockeys in this category have taken 20 of 38 G1 races run this year.
It’s not an easy club to join.
Tags: American Graded Stakes Standings, bill mott, blind luck, Bob Baffert, candy ride, Champagne D'Oro, Crisp, Devil May Care, Drosselmeyer, gabby's golden gal, jerry hollendorfer, john sadler, john shirreffs, john velazquez, Keeneland, malibu moon, Martin Garcia, medaglia d'oro, Michael Tall, mike smith, Mona de Momma, Proviso, Quality Road, rafael bejarano, Street Cry, Super Saver, Taylor Made, todd pletcher, warrior's reward, winstar farm, zenyatta
Posted in American Graded Stakes Standings, Keeneland | 1 Comment »
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
By Ray Paulick
Nicanor – the 3-year-old full brother to the ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, beat just two horses in his career debut at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, finishing far behind another first-time starter, Warrior’s Reward, in a one-mile maiden race on a fast main track.
Ridden by Barbaro’s regular rider, Edgar Prado, Nicanor appeared to be squeezed back at the start of the one-turn contest, racing at the back of the field in the early stages. He gained ground quickly after the opening quarter to move into fifth place and in heavy traffic as favorite Dubinsky carved out the early fractions, but Nicanor paid the price for that effort, fading before the field reached the turn for home and winding up a well-beaten 10th. Prado wrapped up on Nicanor when he was clearly beaten.
“(Nicanor’s) better than that," Prado said afterwards. "I’ve worked him in the mornings and he showed me a lot . He broke really fast and unfortunately grabbed his left quarter. We’ll just have to see how long it takes to heal, but I know he’s better than that.”
Said trainer Michael Matz: “He grabbed the quarter (heel) of the left front leg leaving the gate. He wasn’t comfortable, so Edgar just wrapped up on him.”
The winner, a 3-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro out of For All You Do, by Seeking the Gold, is owned by A. Stevens Miles Jr., trained by Ian Wilkes and was ridden to victory by Calvin Borel. He was bred in Kentucky by Jayeff B Stables and sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale for $180,000. Warrior’s Reward paid $63 for the win. Allrightsreserved was second, Single Malt third and favored Dubinsky faded to fourth.
Final time was 1:39.69 after fractions of :24.33, :48.03, 1:13.49, 1:26,86 and 1:39.69. Click here for the Equibase chart.
Nicanor had a steady string of workouts – none of which were particularly fast — at the Palm Meadows training center going back to early December. The son of Dynaformer out of La Ville Rouge, by Carson City, was bred in Kentucky by his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who campaign in the royal blue, green and white silks of Lael Stables.
His debut was widely anticipated not only by racing people but by many in the general public who for months followed the ultimately tragic saga of the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner after his catastrophic leg injury shortly after the start of the Preakness Stakes. Barbaro died Jan. 29, 2007, two years and two days before his younger full brother made his first start as a 3-year-old. Nicanor’s coming out was previewed by the national news media, including the CBS Evening News, which focused on the colt and his famous brother, who began his career with six consecutive victories, culminating with a 6 ½-length win in the Kentucky Derby.
A HALF-HOUR BEFORE Nicanor’s debut, a field of 10 3-year-olds contested the $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes, a Grade 3 event over 1 1/8 miles, with 12-1 longshot Saratoga Sinner edging 30-1 Bear’s Rocket for the win.
Under red-hot Julien Leparoux (who had ridden seven winners over the last two days), Saratoga Sinner tracked Bear’s Rocket from the outset as the latter set fractions of :23.62, :47.88, 1:12.73 and 1:38.20 for the opening mile. Leparoux asked Saratoga Sinner at the top of the stretch and the colt wore down Bear’s Rocket in the final eighth of a mile, winning by three-quarters of a length and completing the distance on a fast track in 1:51.45. West Side Bernie, making his first start since finishing second in the Delta Jackpot Dec. 5, made a strong move on the turn for home but could do no better than third. Kentucky Jockey Club winner Beethoven was fourth, getting a wide trip from the outside post position in his first start since November.
Saratoga Sinner was coming off a maiden win Jan. 7 at Gulfstream Park, his fourth start for the Lally Stable and trainer Eddie Kenneally. The son of Harlan’s Holiday out of Naughty Linda, by Slew City Slew, was bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones and sold at the Keeneland September yearling sale for $130,000. Chart.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Barbaro, gretchen jackson, gulfstream park, holy bull, julien leparoux, lael stables, michael matz, nicanor, Roy Jackson, saratoga sinner, warrior's reward
Posted in Barbaro, Triple Crown preps | 10 Comments »
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