Tepin, She Can Run…

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Tepin can run but she can’t hide.  Well, actually she is very good at that as well.  I have seen Tepin before but I was really hoping to see her up closer while she was in town for the Jenny Wiley 1 week ago today, on 4/16/16.  Alas, better luck next time.  I still got some nice paddock and track photos and she was amazing again as she broke a track record and won by 5 lengths.

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Search my site and it is easy to see my interest in Tepin’s star power.  I have written about her before.  I first took notice of Tepin on 10/3/15 when I watched her win the Grade 1, First Lady Stakes at Keeneland race track in Lexington, KY.  That was actually her 14th career start.  It was her 2nd race and win at Keeneland, where she broke her maiden as early as 10/6/13.  I didn’t have to wait long to see her again.  She triumphed in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on 10/31/15, also held at Keeneland.

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Tepin has quite the fan following now and she has earned it.  This year she has won 3 Graded stakes as a 5 year old and is tied with Songbird for the top rank in the American Graded Stakes Standings.  Tepin has had 18 career starts including 10 wins, 3 place finishes and 1 time with a show.  She is an Eclipse Winner and she is on a winning steak, 5 races deep.  In 2016 she won the Grade 3 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes at Tampa Bay, the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes, also at Tampa Bay and now the Grade 1 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland.  She set a record in the Hillsborough and then again in the Jenny Wiley.  Her earnings stand at $2,895,873.

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Tepin has Julien Leparoux for her jockey.  She is owned by Robert E. Masterson and trained by Mark Casse and his son/assistant Norman Casse.  She is the offspring of sire Bernstein and dam Life Happened.

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Now what will Tepin do next?  She is nominated for the 29th running of the Grade 1, $500,000, Woodford Reserve Turf Classic!  Kentucky Derby Day just got a little more fantastic if Tepin runs in the Woodford at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, Saturday, 5/7/16.  Fingers crossed she will enter the field of 14 to hit the 1 and 1/18 miles of turf.  Wise Dan won the Woodford twice in 2013 and 2014.  After that she may head to Great Britain to take on the 1 mile Queen Anne Stakes on opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting on Tuesday 6/16/16.

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Watching Tepin win is a joy I could never get tired of.  She makes is look so fun and easy.  I hope when she is done being a turf star that she will live her life here in Kentucky, where she was bred.  Perhaps, then I can meet her on a farm tour and maybe she will breed some other fast fillies!  Below, I included the song that came to mind when titling today’s story.  Phil Collins and a cute dog too!  Thank you for reading.  Look for my story next week, please.  Keeneland has right under a week to go and I’m going back to bring you more stories and pictures.

 

 

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100 Days Till Derby

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Wow!  I still can’t get over the rush of American Pharoah’s Triple Crown and Grand Slam wins.  Meanwhile, today marks only 100 days until the next running of the Kentucky Derby.  Just in time, the early nominees have been announced!  Will we get another big winner?  Will it be Nyquist, pictured above following his undefeated 2015 season after winning the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile?  He does look nice in the crown!

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On Saturday May 7, 2016 Churchill Downs will host the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby.  Early nominees for all 3 legs of the Triple Crown were due on 1/16/16.  Early nominees pay a fee of $600 while later nominees can enter until 3/21/16 but that fee is $6,000.  The fee jumps to a large sum of $200,000 if entered after that.  The deadline for the latest entry is 5/4/16.  Today, the 368 select 3 year-old Thoroughbreds were revealed.  Eclipse Award Juvenile Male, Nyquist, tops the list of contenders. He is owned by Reddam Racing, LCC.  His trainer is Doug F. O’Neill and his jockey is Mario Gutierrez.  He won twice at Santa Anita and twice at Del Mar prior to his BC win at Keeneland.  He had a nice workout at Santa Anita on 1/24/16.  Nyquist is preparing for the Saint Vincente Stakes on 2/15/16 at Santa Anita and he is a top nominee for the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds on 4/2/16.

368 nominees are considered low for an early selection.  Brody’s Cause, Mor Spirit, Greenpointcrusader, Mohaymen, Hit It A Bomb, Ralis and Swipe are some of the other early favorites.  Swipe is seen at the top of the second photo just barely losing to Nyquist at the BC races. Only 3 fillies were nominated.  These little ladies are Northwest Tale, Royal Obsession and Flora Dora.

On the road to the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist leads in points with a score of 30.  He is followed by Exaggerator, Brody’s Cause, Mor Spirit, Flexibility, Swipe, Mo Tom, Airoforce, Mohaymen and Greenpointcrusader for the top 10 of 20 available positions.  Urban Bourbon is nominated from Bourbon Lane Stable.

In regards to trainers, who have nominated horses, Bob Baffert leads with 35 entries.  He was the trainer for our 2015 Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah.  One of his entries this year is Southern Pharaoh, another colt sired by Pioneer of the Nile.  Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown, Mark Casse, D. Wayne Lukas (my favorite with 10 entries) and Mike Maker round out the top trainers, by number of entries.  Kellyn Gorder is entered with Torrontes.

Again we find the American Pharoah connection when we see the owners with the most entries.  It is Zayat Stables that owns 15 entries.  Zayat is followed by Calumet Farm, Charles Fipke and Keeneland’s biggest winners, Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

Following the Kentucky Derby, the 141st Preakness Stakes takes place on 5/21/16 and then the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes is on 6/11/16. The full list of nominees for the Triple Crown is available here: 2016 Triple Crown Nominees

These 100 days are going to be so exciting.  I love watching all of the prep races and the leaderboard on the road to the Kentucky Derby.  Who is your favorite?  Please, share this and share with me.

 

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