Posts Tagged ‘woodward’

PRESS RELEASE

Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra will make her 4-year-old debut in the March 13 New Orleans Ladies, assuming she continues to progress as expected, owner Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables confirmed Thursday. The $200,000 New Orleans Ladies is for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
 
“That is our intended goal,” Jackson said by phone Thursday evening. “I believe she’s on schedule and she’ll get the prep race before she goes on to Oaklawn. There are other tracks that have offered to have us go, but right now we’d rather stay here.”
 
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., announced earlier Thursday that the date of the Grade I Apple Blossom had been moved back to Friday, April 9, in order to give Rachel Alexandra and champion older female Zenyatta sufficient time to each get one start before meeting for the first time in what Oaklawn is billing as the “Race for the Ages.” The new date of the Apple Blossom places it 27 days after the New Orleans Ladies.
 
“We’re obviously thrilled by the news that Rachel Alexandra, already a legend based on her accomplishments last year, intends to make her 2010 debut at Fair Grounds,” said Fair Grounds Vice President and General Manager Eric Halstrom. “We are already working to make sure March 13 will be a special day befitting of racing royalty.”
 
Jackson expressed his hope that the New Orleans Ladies would attract a solid field of competitors despite the imposing proposition for the others of having to face one of the top female racehorses in history.
 
“I’d really like to have more than just nominal competition in the race,” Jackson said. “Assuming it’s a fair race I don’t expect Rachel to have any trouble but at the same time, regardless of whether they’re superstars or not, it embellishes the track’s reputation and Rachel’s reputation to have the best possible competition.”
 
Record rainfall in December and more high levels of precipitation in January repeatedly forced two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Steve Asmussen to adjust Rachel Alexandra’s schedule. More recently, however, she has posted official workouts on consecutive weekends, including a half-mile breeze Saturday in :50 3/5.
 
“It’s not anyone’s fault, but with the rain and the track conditions it’s been a serious setback to Rachel’s routine,” Jackson said. “When you’re training a horse it’s an animal that needs to have a regular routine and Steve’s been hard-pressed to keep her going given the weather. When we do get her to the track it’s well maintained, but she’s behind schedule and that means we’re compressed to try to get everything done and keep her on schedule leading up to works and preparing her for a major competition at Oaklawn.”
 
Fair Grounds officials added the New Orleans Ladies to the stakes schedule last fall in hopes that a scenario such as this would play out. Now it appears Fair Grounds will get its wish—to showcase the champion filly in front of New Orleans’ faithful race fans.
 
“It’s always fun to visit New Orleans, one of the top cities in the United States,” Jackson said. “My wife loves it. You have great food. The rebound has been phenomenal as far as sports are concerned so maybe that will help lead to a full recovery.”
 
Rachel Alexandra established herself as one of the all-time great fillies last year with historic wins in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and Grade I Preakness Stakes, as well as six other stakes races, including the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks. She defeated older males twice, in the Grade I Haskell Invitational and the Grade I Woodward.

 

If there has been a stronger and deeper field for a Grade 3 race than Saturday night’s Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes, please tell me what it was. The filly and mare sprint over 6 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta synthetic surface has attract a field of 12, including four Grade 1 winners. The third running of the $400,000 contest will be shown on TVG at 8 p.m. (all times Eastern).

Two of the Grade 1 winners, Test Stakes winner Flashing and Princess Rooney Handicap winner Game Face, have never raced on a synthetic track. Neither has Diamondrella, who was won six consecutive races for trainer Angel Penna Jr., the most recent coming in the Grade 1 Just a Game on a yielding Belmont Park turf course in June.

The fourth filly in the quarter of Grade 1 winners is Informed Decision, who is four-for-four on synthetics, her biggest win coming this spring over Ventura in the Vinery Madison Stakes at Keeneland going seven furlongs. The daughter of Monarchos has won eight of 11 lifetime starts for the owner-trainer team of George Strawbridge and Jonathan Sheppard, and the gray filly figures to be favored over this tough bunch of distaff sprinters on Saturday night.

After the Labor Day weekend’s bonanza of Grade 1 races from coast to coast and the exciting and historic victory by Rachel Alexandra in the Woodward at Saratoga, there has to something of a letdown this weekend. California racing has shifted to the bullring at the Los Angeles County Fair at Pomona, where you can get your fill of other racing breeds, and New York has moved to Big Sandy at Belmont Park, where the only Grade 1 races of the weekend are being held.

Those two Grade 1s are the Ruffian Handicap on the Belmont Park dirt track at 2:35 p.m. on TVG and HRTV and the Garden City Stakes on the Belmont turf at 4:43 p.m.

On Sunday, with a full slate of games from opening week of the NFL, things really slow down, with just one graded stakes scheduled: the Bowling Green Handicap from Belmont at 5:10 p.m.

 

Jess Jackson and Harold McCormick’s 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro kept her perfect 2009 record intact, winning for the eighth time this year, defeating males for the third time, and making her first venture in the older horse category a successful one.

While the margin of victory was the smallest of her 11 career victories (from 14 starts), the now-almost certain pick for Horse of the Year was under pressure every step of the way in the 56th running of the Woodward. First it was the 2008 Belmont Stakes winner, Da’ Tara, who pushed Rachel Alexandra through a sizzling opening quarter mile in :22.85 seconds and a half in :46.41. Then it was Past the Point, who forced Jackson’s two-time Horse of the Year Curlin to the limit in last year’s Woodward. Past the Point ranged up alongside, as Rachel Alexandra ran the first six furlongs in 1:10.54.  And then Whitney winner Bullsbay came up to challenge as the field rounded the final turn.

Borel sat chilly on Rachel Alexandra to the top of the stretch, then inside the three-sixteenths pole asked her for everything she had, first going to a right-handed whip, giving her two taps on the right flank, then switching to the left hand, hitting her five times, then switching back over to the right hand, striking her a dozen times or more with every stride she took to the wire.

Macho Again raced far back early as the trailer, saved some ground into the stretch and then closed resolutely. Robbie Albarado appeared to have to straighten out the son of Macho Uno as he was leaning in on Bullsbay inside the eighth pole, losing some momentum, but the wire came just in time for Rachel and Borel. Bullsbay finished third. Asiatic Boy, who made a wide move while appearing to be a threat around the final bend, finished fourth, and he was followed by It’s a Bird, Past the Post, Cool Coal Man, and Da’ Tara, who was eased.

Rachel Alexandra covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:48.29, after a mile clocking in 1:35.48. She carried 118 pounds, getting an eight-pound age and sex allowance from her older male rivals. Steve Asmussen has trained Rachel Alexandra to her last four victories, taking over from Hal Wiggins after Jackson and McCormick bought the filly following her 20 1/4-length win in the Kentucky Oaks. She then reeled off wins in the Preakness Stakes over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont, and the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park against colts. She had race previously for her breeder, Dolphus Morrison. Rachel Alexandra was produced from the Roar mare, Lotta Kim.

Rachel Alexandra tossed Calvin Borel in the post parade but didn’t get loose from the outrider. Borel had taken his left foot out of the stirrups as Rachel Alexandra was tossing her head started to brush with the outrider’s pony. Just then, she threw her head up and down and appeared to catch Borel in the head with her nose, throwing him to the ground. He quickly remounted, and Rachel Alexandra didn’t seem to lose her composure in the incident.

Rachel Alexandra paid $2.60 to win as the heavy favorite.

Rachel Alexandra joins a roster of legendary Thoroughbreds to have won the Woodward, which until 2006 had been run at Aqueduct or Belmont Park. Among the previous winners of the race were Kelso, Buckpasser, Damascus, Forego, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba, Easy Goer, Holy Bull, Cigar, Ghostzapper, and Curlin. With the record she has compiled — 11 wins in 14 starts and earnings of $2,948,354 – Rachel Alexandra easily deserves to mentioned in the same sentence as any of them.

Click here to see a video of Rachel Alexandra’s historic Woodward victory. 

Click here for the official chart.

The Woodward attracted a crowd of 31,171, many of whom wore “Rachel” buttons given away by the New York Racing Association.
 

By Bradford Cummings

As I have said many times before on the Paulick Report, I am an outsider looking in on a sport I have grown to love and admire. Like when I had that first drink with my now wife, I could not shake the sentiment “where have you been all my life?” And after a talk with Director of Communications and Media Relations Dan Silver and Director of Marketing Neema Ghazi at the New York Racing Association, it appears to me the new direction for New York racing has new fans like myself in mind. With a little nudging and some tender loving care, the industry would do well to follow their lead and open up this beautiful sport to the masses of potential fans.
 
Catching them in the middle of Saratoga madness, it is clear these two young men take their jobs extremely seriously because they themselves are lifelong fans. In a previous conversation, Ghazi had told me he actually grew up in Saratoga so racing was in his blood. As he would tell me several times in a short period of time, he considered Saratoga to have the best jockeys, best trainers and best horses in the country during its historic meet each summer. I suppose it would be like growing up next to Yankee Stadium, a bit hard to avoid the hype.
 
Silver on the other hand, was a Philadelphia boy who gravitated to horse racing through the television, a medium he regrets we do too little with as an industry. “TV has been neglected,” said Silver. “One of the great mistakes the industry ever made was not jumping on TV like football did.”
 
This regret, though he is certainly not old enough to remember, has informed much of what he puts emphasis on when considering his communications plan. Both Dan and Neema put a lot into the necessity of quality television for the sport to grow. Both gentlemen touted MSG + as a great way to fill that gap, specifically when considering the racetracks under their watch. This well-known regional signal essentially reaches the Midlantic region of the United States and can also be tuned in through DirecTV. This exclusive feed gives NYRA racetracks an advantage others do not have as experts like handicapper Andy Serling among others gets exposure and helps to build a local and national brand.
 
Of course, Andy Serling can now be found online through his Twitter feed, largely the brainchild of these two Young Turks. “You can find Andy Serling, one of the top handicappers in the world, tweeting his picks each day,” said Ghazi. “Currently, his Twitter page has 1,281 subscribers in just four weeks.” With such gems as “Maybe the Linda Rice supporters can tell me why Sextant is 3:1 and not 30:1 in the 5th” and “Kiaran McLaughlin is 0 for 16 with 2YO filly firsters on dirt over 5 years at Saratoga” it is clear this feature will be a mainstay for racing fans during the many years to come.
 
Under their watch, NYRA has created a dedicated YouTube channel with nearly 2,000 archived videos and 36,716 views, a Facebook page with 2,836 fans and a blog called Saratoga Insider that covers the backside at Saratoga from the insider perspective. Most will remember Curlin’s Corner during last year’s Woodward and NYRA is back at it again with Rachel’s Sandbox, an exquisitely simple and effective fan page that leads with a video of the her historic Preakness win. Others in our industry could take a page from this marketing plan which is far more reminsincent of a Lebron James push than the strategies that have made racing a footnote in the American lexicon.
 
Due to these obvious improvements, it is no wonder attendance and handle are both up over last year despite a near depression. While factors like lower gas prices and the propensity for “staycations” play into the hands of improved financial figures, other racetracks could use similar reasons to boast if they had improvement. But just like with Churchill’s successful Downs After Dark, innovation is often rewarded in an industry that oftentimes looks left out of the evolutionary cycle. Much credit should be given to Charlie Hayward and the rest of the NYRA leadership for understanding that in order to move forward, we must try new things and not look back at old solutions.
 
With the economy still not in full recovery and a sport still not back into the spotlight, it is good to know that Ghazi and Silver understand at its essence what they have to sell. “A young family of four can come to Saratoga for as little as $6,” said Ghazi. “They can bring all their own stuff and just have a picnic.” There’s simplicity in this statement that should assure the industry these two and the rest of the NYRA staff truly gets it.  
 
If you get them in the door, they’ll become lifelong fans. Take it from a Chicago boy now writing for the Paulick Report and a Philadelphia guy who stumbled upon racing while flipping the channels on his way to a different destination.

By Ray Paulick

Reigning Horse of the Year Curlin edged past a stubborn pacesetter, Past the Point, to win the Grade 1 Woodward by a length and a quarter at Saratoga Saturday and move closer to Cigar’s earnings record of $9,999,815 for a North America-based Thoroughbred.

(VIDEO, Equibase charts for Saratoga)

Under regular rider Robby Albarado, Curlin broke well, but was jostled and carried out a bit wide into the first turn of the nine-furlong Woodward, then settled into fourth position as Edgar Prado guided Past the Point through quick early fractions of :22.89, :46.20 and 1:09.61. Wanderin Boy prompted the early pace.

Albarado asked Curlin for more run approaching the far turn, passed Wanderin Boy at the head of the stretch and set his sights on Past the Point, who came into the Woodward with just one graded stakes appearance (a third in last year’s Grade 2 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs) in nine starts. But the Eoin Harty-trained son of Indian Charlie racing for Darley Stable made Curlin work for the win. Albarado went to the whip a half-dozen times, getting up in the final furlong to grind out a hard-earned victory. Past the Point was second, with Wanderin Boy third. Final time of the race on a fast track was 1:49.34 after a mile split of 1:35.33. All starters carried 126 pounds.

It was Curlin’s first race at Saratoga and his 10th win in 14 lifetime starts. The 4-year-old son of Smart Strike races for Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and is trained by Steve Asmussen. The win in the $500,000 Woodward moved his career earnings to $9,796,800, putting him just over $200,000 shy of Cigar’s record. 

The Woodward was Curlin’s fourth win in five starts this year, his only defeat coming last time out in the Grade 1 Man o’ War at Belmont Park when Jackson wanted to try the horse on grass before a possible trip to France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. That idea was scrapped when Curlin finished second to Red Rocks and now Jackson is thought to be considering the Japan Cup Dirt the first week of December. He has indicated that Curlin will not defend his title in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, won last year on a very sloppy track at Monmouth Park but scheduled on Santa Anita Park’s untested Pro-Ride synthetic track this year.

Curlin paid $2.70 as the heavy betting favorite.

FIRST DEFENCE went wire to wire to win the Grade 1 Forego after heavy favorite Lucky Island stumbled badly and was pinched back at the start. Under jockey Channing HIll, the 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song fought off an early duel with Eternal Star, setting fractions of :22.53, :44.61, and 1:08.49, then drawing off to win by 6 3/4 lengths, completing seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:21.55. Greeley’s Conquest finished second, with Ferocious Fires third. Lucky Island, who came into the Forego off four straight victories, moved into contention at the top of the stretch after falling back to last, but was unable to sustain his rally and wound up sixth.

The Forego winner runs for his breeder, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, and is trained by Robert Frankel. He was winning for the sixth time in 12 starts, but his only previous graded stakes victory came in the Grade 3 Jaipur. First Defence paid $17.60.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick

Jess Jackson, majority owner of Horse of the Year Curlin, said the Smart Strike colt will race next in the Woodward at Saratoga Aug. 30 at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.

The California winemaker said other races he and trainer Steve Asmussen had under consideration for Curlin were the Pacific Classic on Polytrack at Del Mar Aug. 24 and the Arlington Million on turf this weekend at Arlington Park in Chicago.

"The Woodward has the least purse," Jackson said, "but we thought it would be best to stay at this venue (where Curlin is currently training), both for him and for racing." Also, Jackson spoke of the historic nature of Saratoga and the many great horses who have raced there. "(Curlin’s) legacy is one of the reasons I want to run at Saratoga."

The purse for the Woodward is $500,000, half that of the Million and Pacific Classic. The race originated at Aqueduct, but had its longest run at Belmont Park. It was moved to Saratoga in 2006.

Its roster of winners reads like a who’s who of racing over the last 50 years: Forego is a four-time Woodward winner; Kelso won three times; Cigar twice; and Buckpasser, Damascus, Seattle Slew Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba, Mineshaft, Ghostzapper, and Saint Liam also won the Woodward. Last year’s winner was Lawyer Ron.

The Woodward is not scheduled to be televised on network or cable television, other than on the two racing channels, TVG and HRTV.

Jackson said he was making decisions on a "one race at a time" basis, but that several scenarios are under consideration for  one or two more races after the Woodward, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Japan Cup or Japan Cup Dirt, or the Hong Kong International Races. He mentioned several other races as having been under consideration, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont, the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs, and the Goodwood Handicap at Oak Tree’s Santa Anita meeting.

"We’re going to keep all those options open, but right now we’re going to focus on the Woodward," he said. "Curlin is a happy horse here. He loves the Oklahoma training track.

"We’d like to go (to the Breeders’ Cup Classic), but it’s an untested surface," Jackson said, in reference to the Pro-Ride synthetic track currently being installed at Santa Anita Park, which will host the Breeders’ Cup both this year and in 2009. Besides, Jackson said in reference to the Classic, which Curlin won last year to seal his Horse of the Year title, "Been there, done that."

Jackson said the Arc de Triomphe is out "for this year," and added that he might have actually preferred sending Curlin to the Sept. 6 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown instead, because of the configuration of the racetrack and the smaller field that is expected. "The Arc is more of a cavalry charge," he said.

He also said he has not completely ruled out running Curlin in 2009 as a 5-year-old. "The chances of racing him next year are pretty slim," said Jackson, who added that Curlin’s addition to the stallion gene pool would be a great asset to the industry.

Jackson said he hopes Curlin and Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Big Brown meet and encouraged the owners of Big Brown to race the colt as a 4-year-old, as he’s done with Curlin. He downplayed comments by Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow, made in the wake of last Sunday’s Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, that Big Brown is a better horse than Curlin. "I think it’s bad for racing to have trash talk. I think it’s unethical in the football arena and other sports. What you have is an attempt to show the animals at their best. And to run down another guy’s horse…isn’t the right thing to do. Yes, I’d love to meet (Big Brown). it would be great for the industry and the fans. May the best horse win."

Curlin’s owner made the announcement during a teleconference hosted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Jackson used the teleconference to sound off on other issues, including what he called an inequitable split on simulcasting and account wagering revenue, where the least amount of money goes to the track where the live race is being run. Jackson also called for a "league" or series of races for older horses that he said, if accomplished by 2009, could convince him to keep Curlin in training and forego his stud career for another year. "That’s a concept that’s attractive," he said, "but the devil is in the details. It’s very preliminary."

Jackson also commented about the uncertainty of artificial surfaces, such as the Pro-Ride track at Santa Anita Park, which have been mandated by the California Horse Racing Board. He said he encouraged Frank Stronach to replace the Cushion Track synthetic surface at Santa Anita with a conventional dirt track, but understood that the CHRB ruled prohibited that. "Until we as an industry get our hands around artificial surfaces and get more consistency, we have a great deal of fear about injury," he said. "And most handicappers feel it is an unreliable true surface with respect to early speed and closing speed. Owners don’t want to risk a great horse being beaten because or the surface."

More than 15,000 fans voted in a poll at Jackson’s Stonestreet Farms Web site on wear he should run Curlin next. Fifty-one percent voted for a turf campaign, 33% for dirt, and only 10% for synthetics, with 6% advising Jackson to retire Curlin."

"We did it for the fun of it," Jackson said. "Steve Asmussen and I are fully confident to make a decision, but I was having fun with that because I wanted to engage the fans. I was looking at the turf heavily and I hope I don’t disappoint them because I’m going to the dirt. The results reflected a lot of passion for the horse."

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report