Official from TRAKUS: Trakus Fact: American Pharoah covered 29 feet (about 3.4 lengths) more than Firing Line and 69 feet (about 8.1 lengths) more than Dortmund. @trakusracing
KENTUCKY OAKS - Hat trick for Brereton Jones and Larry Jones as they celebrate their third Oaks victory. 123,763 people in attendance — a race record — at Churchill Downs saw Lovely Maria win the 141st running of the $1 million, mile-and-an-eighth Kentucky Oaks, the biggest race of the year for three-year old fillies.
Lovely Maria won the Kentucky Oaks in front of the largest crowd in the race’s history with 123,763 people turning out for Friday’s card at Churchill Downs. For those who put their faith in her to win, they were rewarded with a payout of $14.60 on a $2 win ticket.
Race Replay Lovely Maria gives Kerwin "Boo Boo" Clark an emotional day
LOUISVILLE – Lovely Maria, owned by a former Kentucky governor, ridden by 56-year-old jockey and guided by a trainer who was severely injured in a riding accident last year, won the $1 million Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies Friday at Churchill Downs.
"This is unbelievable. … I thought my opportunity was gone. … It doesn't get any better than this," said jockey Kerwin "Boo Boo" Clark, who hadn't won a grade one stakes in his four-decade career until he rode Lovely Maria to a April 4 victory in the Ashland Stakes.
They could run the $1 million Oaks a thousand more years and be hard pressed to produce as sentimental an ending as the one Lovely Maria delivered when she overtook Angela Renee in midstretch en route to notching a 23/4-length triumph in the 11⁄8-mile test for 3-year-old fillies.
But possibly the most interesting part of the story to racing fans is that “underdog” component for both Lovely Maria and Clark.
Even though she is a well-bred filly from the first crop of Brereton Jones’ stallion Majesticperfection, Lovely Maria went through the sales ring as a yearling and didn’t sell when she brought a closing bid of $5,000.
Throughout the Kentucky Oaks trail, Lovely Maria was considered kind of the “second stringer” from Larry Jones’ entries with I’m a Chatterbox getting most of the attention. Lovely Maria won the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on April 4, but even on Oaks day, she went off at slightly higher odds than her stablemate.
Clark has been aboard Lovely Maria since her career began last September and his loyalty to the filly has paid off. Riding for 40 years, Clark has enjoyed the best month of his career. He was still searching for an elusive first Grade 1 victory when he rode Lovely Maria in the Ashland Stakes. He knocked the Grade 1 win off his bucket list in the Ashland, turned 56 on April 18, and now is a Kentucky Oaks-winning rider. Not too shabby for a jockey who was on the cusp of retiring 15 years ago. Read more at source
KENTUCKY DERBY 141: In preparation for the most famous race in America, and many would say, in the world, I've put together a source for all things Kentucky Derby, including a separate section for each horse with his profile and links to past races, pedigree, etc. I'm also adding a section for the fillies, Kentucky Oaks horses, at the bottom of the blog. It is being populated with information about the fillies, their prep races, and profiles. But first, here's what stands out at this point.
Source: John P. Wise/File Photo
BOB BAFFERT has reason to smile. Some are saying he has the best 1-2 punch any trainer has had since 1948, when Ben Jones fielded Citation and Coaltown in the Kentucky Derby with Citation on his way to a Triple Crown that was not to be broken until Secretariat in 1973. "That's saying a lot, folks. Citation beat Coaltown by 3.5 lengths on his way to the Triple Crown, and Coaltown finished three lengths ahead of the third-place My Request." Read at source
And, in this corner............
Mubtaahij, ridden ridden by Christophe Soumillon, wins the UAE Derby during the 2015 Dubai World Cup. Pawan Singh / The National
His name is Mubtaahij. He's a true international: bred in Ireland, ridden by a Frenchman, trained by a South African and owned by a United Arab Emirates prince. Facing the toughest field in decades, Mike de Kock says his timing isn't the best, but he feels Mubtaahij’s improving form and will to win should stand him in good stead. “I can take a lot from what we saw in Dubai,” he said. “There was a fair amount of kickback in Dubai and if he can deal with that he can probably deal with anything.” Read more
Now that the Kentucky Derby is less than 72 hours away, and all the prep races have been run, it's time to get familiar with the likely Kentucky Derby field on May 2, at Churchill Downs. Here you will find the horses that have earned the points and qualify for the starting gate. To view the "pecking" order, click here, where you can see the list of the contenders who have qualified and where they stand as far as the points they have earned. Kentucky Derby field is limited to 20 horses, but as we know from past history, there will be defections for varying reasons, so those horses currently "on the bubble" could move up if any of the current contenders should stumble.
Below are the Top Derby Contenders, in order of Mike Watchmaker's estimate of early odds - Full List
Derby prep races, including replays, analysis, and first four finishers, click here
If you want to review the Derby Preps in chronological order and the number of points each race offered, including an analysis of each race in detail, click here
For a retrospective, I was privileged to attend the 1980 Kentucky Derby, when the filly, Genuine Risk became the first filly since 1915 to win the run for the roses. 1980 Kentucky Derby
Oaks Day PPs from Brisnet
1:26 ET Edgewood S G3CD$150k3yo f8.5f TR6CARD 2:08 ET La Troienne S G1CD$300k4+ f/m8.5f R7CARD
2:22 ET Gold Fever SBel$100k3yo6f R3CARD
3:02 ET Alysheba S G2 CD$400k4+8.5f R8CARD
4:02 ET Twin Spires T Sprint G3CD$150k4+5f TR9CARD
4:52 ET Eight Belles S G3CD$200k3yo f7f R10CARD
4:57 ET License Fee S Bel$100k4+ f/m6f TR8CARD 5:49 ET Kentucky Oaks G1CD$1,000k3yo f9f R11CARD
SATURDAY
12:38 ET Pat Day Mile S G3CD$200,0003yo1 mi R5CARD
1:19 ET American Turf G2CD$250k3yo1 1/16 mi TR6CARD
1:44 ET Sheepshead Bay S G2Bel$200k4+ f/m1 3/8mi TR4CARD
2:08 ET Humana Distaff G1 CD$300,0004+ f/m7f R7CARD
2:52 ET Westchester S G3Bel$150k4+8f R6CARD
2:59 ET Churchill Distaff Turf Mi G2CD$300,0004+ f/m1 mi T R8CARD
3:43 ET Churchill Downs G2CD$500,0004+7f R9CARD
4:44 ET Woodford Res. Turf Cl. S G1CD$500,0004+9f T R10CARD
4:50 ET Queenston SWO$150,0003yo S7f AWR8CARD
5:35 ET Fort Marcy S G3Bel$150k4+9f TR10CARD 6:24 ET Kentucky Derby G1CD$2,000,0003yo1 1/4 mi R11CARD
7:00 ET Precisionist S G3SA$100,0003+1
1/16 mi R10CARD
International - Hong Kong & Japan- Australia
2:40 a.m. ET Tenno Sho Spring G1JRA$2,721,000 a 4+ 2 mi TRCARD
4:05 a.m. ET Champions Mile G1HK$1,805,000 3+8f
TR8CARD - Replay
10:40 a.m. ET 1000 Guineas, Newmarket G1, 3f, 1miT R4 - CARD Replay
Cirrus Des Aigles handily wins third GanayBrisnet: Cirrus des Aigles strong as ever in Ganay
Here is link to Race Replay (in French) Race ReplayEnglish call of the Prix Ganay
Al Kazeem came after him but couldn't catch him in the stretch to the wire
Trainer: "He is in all the top Group 1 races like the [May 24] G1 Prix d’Ispahan, the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. [at Royal Ascot June 17], the [June 6] G1 Coronation Cup and the G1 Eclipse S. [at Sandown July 4], but I’d love to win the [June 28] G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud with him. I will ask the horse where he wants to run and that’s where we’ll go." . BloodHorse: Cirrus wins third Ganay Jean-Claude-Alain Dupouy's Cirrus des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}) wins a third G1 Prix Ganay at Longchamp
Friday, April 17, 2015, at Santa Anita, Race 2, post time about 1:30 p.m. PDT
Cozmic One (Mary Ellet)
Cozmic One (Mary Ellet)
UPDATE: Coz is last in first time out, but there were some positives that came out of the experience.
Coz posed in front of the grandstand, a la his famous mom
The day before he raced, fans watched training videos of him acting up in the gate, lashing out at John Shirreffs, his trainer. Everyone was very concerned as to whether he was really ready to race. John spent several hours Thursday before he raced "schooling" in the gate, and those lessons evidently paid off, because on race day, while he was fractious in the saddling area, once Victor Espinoza, his jockey, climbed on his back, he settled down and was as good as can be. The stewards gave him permission to have the rider up from the paddock, and he proceeded nicely to the starting gate, loading and then waiting for the rest of the field to complete the lineup in the gate. Read BloodHorse write up hereHorse Racing Nation write upRace Replay here Several people who posted reminded us that Coz' daddy and his granddaddy both finished 4th in their first time out, with chart comments that gave no indication as to their talent they displayed later on. He is now expected to be shipped with John to Belmont in New York for the upcoming season there. View race chartBrisnet write-up
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When the dark bay colt first arrived at Belmont Park to begin training, his endless, pent-up energy could not be subdued.
"In order for us to even handle him, we had to put a lot of miles on him," Shirreffs said. "I never had a 2-year-old I trained more than Cozmic One and that was just to handle him. That wasn't even beginning to think about the lessons he would have to learn (to race him). It was in order to just hot walk him to get the edge off." Read moreCozmic One Facebook Page - click here
It’s a big weekend this week at Nakayama racecourse, following on from Saturday’s Grade 1 Nakayama Grand Jump, the 75th running of the first colts’ Classic, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), will take place on Sunday (April 19th) over 2000 meters on turf at the Chiba track. There are nineteen nominations, and the race is shaping up to be a real competitive one, as a number of colts get to take each other on here, coming into the race from different trial races held earlier in the year. Read moreCARD
Note: This blog is non-commercial and was developed for my own personal use to organize my racing viewing activity. Your comments as to its usefulness to you are welcomed & would be appreciated. Thanks!
JOCKEY CLUB ON FOX SPORTS 1 FOR SATURDAY, 4:30-5:30 EDT. Televising the G1 $300,000 Jenny Wiley and the G3 $250,000 Coolmore Lexington both at Keeneland.
United States
In the U.S., the last of the Derby Preps at Oaklawn with AMERICAN PHAROAH expected to take the Arkansas Derby, with the rest of the field running for second-fourth for points to get in the gate on May 2.
SUMMER FRONT looking to get that elusive Grade 1 win in the Makers 46 Mile at Keeneland, Friday.
APRIL 11, 2015 - AINTREE - 2015 GRAND NATIONAL Saturday, April 11, 4:15 p.m. London time or 11:15 EDT (New York) $800,000+ USD in purses, 4.5 miles, 30 jumps, 40 horses CARD
Another history This history leaves out an important chapter, the one where the American horse, BATTLESHIP, a son of Man O'War, had won the American Grand National in 1934. Then, in 1938, he won the Grand National and became not only the first dual American/British winner, but also, was the last "entire" horse to win the fabled race. While he was not prolific, he did sire several champions, in addition to an American Grand National winner. He was raced by Marion duPont, and after racing returned to her Montpelier estate, where he lived to the ripe old age of 31. He is in the US Racing Hall of Fame. Battleship wiki page
Red Rum, the greatest Grand National racehorse of all time When Red Rum and Tommy Stack came home alone in the 1977 Grand National, he established beyond all possible dispute his right to the title of the greatest chaser in Grand National history.
In five successive years he had jumped the course five times without making a single serious mistake. No other horse had ever won three Nationals, no other horse ever covered those 4 miles as fast as Red Rum did to beat Crisp in 1973.
*************************************************** Australia - The Championships Day Two
In Australia, Day Two of The Championships at Sydney's Randwick racecourse will feature Grade 1 races Australian Oaks. Saturday's Group 1 races, in addition to the Oaks, are the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 1 1/4 miles, the Schwepps 150th Sydney Cup at 2 miles and the Cellarbrations Queen of the Turf Stakes at 1 mile.
Four-time Melbourne Cup runner-up Red Cadeaux will make his Sydney debut in Saturday's $4 million Group I Queen Elizabeth Stakes rather than the Sydney Cup.
Red Cadeaux's trainer Ed Dunlop informed Racing NSW stewards by email at around 1.30am Sydney time on Wednesday morning.
"The decision has been made to run Red Cadeaux in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, as opposed to the Sydney Cup, at Randwick on Saturday," Dunlop wrote on his website. "The excellent Kerrin McEvoy will ride as Hugh Bowman is set to partner Lucia Valentina.
"The weather has been the overriding factor in our decision, with Sydney having experienced an extremely wet week." Read more
********************************************* Japan - Sunday
Rouge Buck
In Japan, the OKA SHO will feature three year old fillies in a run for the Japan 1000 Guineas on Sunday. The Oka Sho gained G1 status in Japan in 1984 and received international Grade 1 status in 2010. The top four finishers from a full field of 18 will automatically qualify for the second leg of the filly’s Triple Crown -- the 2,400-meter Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) on May 24 at Tokyo.
The Oka Sho is open only to 3-year-old females and carries a first-place bounty of 89 million yen, a total purse of nearly 185 million yen. The race is run over the Hanshin 1,600-meter outer course and is the shortest of the Triple Crown trio. Preview for the Oka Sho
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Jon and Joel talk about last week's Derby preps and this week's Arkansas Derby
The CARDS links below will take you to replays once race is completed.
North American races are listed first below. Japan and Australia races are below NA races, although you should be aware that Japan and Australia are run in the early morning hours U.S. time.
NEWS
Courier-Journal's national media Kentucky Derby poll
