Pioneer of the Nile Archives - Page 2 of 2

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016

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!

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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November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

Canyon Connections

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Ah, vacation! This past weekend I took a long overdue trip to Arizona. When I’m not chasing horses I enjoy time with friends, family and nature. For the second time in my life I made it out to see the third of Seven Natural Wonders of the World, The Grand Canyon. I have snorkeled the 4th wonder, The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. So many wonders, so little time. I saw birds, chipmunks, elk, deer and a tarantula. I didn’t see any horses, though you can ride the trails on mules and I saw some of them in a corral. The Grand Canyon truly is amazing and so was a Thoroughbred by the same name.

Grand Canyon, the natural wonder, was cut by the Colorado river over 17 million years ago. Grand Canyon, the Thoroughbred race horse, was born February 14, 1987. He was a special horse and he looked the part, very advanced for his age. Grand Canyon was trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ favorite horses, revealed in a 2012 interview. He was bred in Florida by Lin-Drake Farm. He was owned by both Lukas and W.T. Young of Overbrook Farm in Lexington, KY. Grand Canyon had 8 career starts in which he made over a million dollars in lifetime earnings. He won his 3rd maiden race after running twice at Hollywood Park and then at Del Mar. In his 1st race he came in 4th but from then on he was always second or first to finish. Every race, following his maiden, was a stakes race. He placed at Santa Anita in the Sunny Slopes Stakes, then won the Norfolk Stakes (Grade 1) at that same track. In his next race he was 2nd in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Gulfstream (G1) then won both the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G3) and the Hollywood Futurity (G1) at Churchill then Hollywood Park respectively. He was the runner up for the Eclipse Award for 2 Year Old Champion. Unfortunately, Grand Canyon’s career ended at the same track in the same year it began, 1989. He achieved a speed record riden by Angel Cordero, Jr. in the Hollywood Futurity. He had so much potential but he suffered a leg injury from which he never recovered. He was euthanized in July 1990. Grand Canyon was the 1st horse to be buried at Overbrook Farm.

Grand Canyon was only 3 when he died. He has no progeny but members of his pedigree did go on to produce more great horses. Grand Canyon’s dam was Champagne Ginny. His sire was Fappiano. Fappiano is the great great grandsire of American Pharoah! Fappiano’s son was Unbridled, who sired Empire Maker, the father of Pioneer of the Nile. Pioneer of the Nile is American Pharoah’s sire and both are registered stallions currently in Kentucky. Unbridled won the Kentucky Derby in 1990. Empire Maker was 2nd in the KY Derby in 2003. Pioneer of the Nile was 2nd the KY Derby in 2009. American Pharoah won the KY Derby in 2015. What a line of superior Thoroughbreds!

The road to the Kentucky Derby is well underway. On May 7, 2016 we will have our next Run for the Roses. The 142nd KY Derby, at Churchill Downs, will feature 20 horses that qualify from earning points in 35 select races. We have already completed 6 of these races. The next race is this Saturday, 11/21/15. That race is the Delta Downs Jackpot at Delta Downs in Louisiana. There are currently 10 entries for this grade 3 race of 1 and 1/16 miles for a $1 million dollar purse. Post time is 4:15 P.M. CST. Ocho Ocho Ocho won last year and went on to compete in the KY Derby. I will be tuned in to watch as I am excited to see all of our up and coming 2 year olds. As always, thanks for sharing and following along on my educational adventures in horse racing. I hope you enjoy my scenic pictures from my trip. Soon, I want to tell you about my first visit to Turf Paradise race track in Phoenix, AZ while I was visiting out West.

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October 24, 2015October 25, 2015

Saturday Sendoff

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I’m not at Keeneland today but it is the closing day for the live racing meet so I have to give it a proper sendoff. Keeneland it has been a blast and I hope today is a good time for humans and horses alike.

Our tipster is likely in attendance. He gave us a final pick for the meet. He says’ ” (Check out) race 8, (horse) #6, Sister Blues. (She) ran her guts out last time, opening weekend, at Keeneland and should run very well unless she only liked the muddy track.” Well, this tip is about the best spin on a rainy day I have seen in a while because he made this statement last night and now it is raining!Race 8 goes off at 4:57 P.M. EST today. It is an allowance race with a purse of $58,000. There are 10 entries. The race is 1 and 1/16 miles on the dirt for fillies and mares age 3 or older. Sister Blues is a 3 year old, Kentucky bred and owned by Lucky Seven Table. Her sire is Pioneer of the Nile, just like our Triple Crown hero American Pharoah. Sister Blues finished 2nd at Keeneland on October 3, 2015. She has one win in her 5 career starts. Her jockey today is Drayden Van Dyke. He has an Eclipse Award and has won multiple graded stakes in over a thousand starts. Thomas F. Proctor is her graded stakes winning trainer. He won at the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

A final thought for the day. Who is this horse pictured above? I have had the great pleasure of seeing many of the Thoroughbreds that will participate in this year’s Breeders’ Cup while they have been schooling in Keeneland’s paddock this meet. I saw this beauty on October 7th and was struck by the height of this horse. Leave a comment if you know who it is? I do not. Here is an unedited picture below.

Update: Sister Blues finished last. She maintained a middle position for a good portion of the race then she went to the outside and fought her way to third. Unfortunately, right after she made that position she quickly faded to the back. The race was won by Gamblers Rose who held the lead from the break.

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June 7, 2015June 22, 2015

Fabulous Pharoah!

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It took 37 years but yesterday we finally got another Triple Crown winner! American Pharoah proved he is a champion Thoroughbred winning the Belmont Stakes in just 2:26.65. I watched from the simulcast televisions at Keeneland race track as happy tears streamed down my face. 90,000 fans attended the Belmont. It was exactly what I had been wanting to see but I was just so surprised that it finally happened.

American Pharoah held back for just a second when the gates opened but injust 2 jumps, coming from post #5, he took the lead and kept it. He won this race by 5 and 1/2 lengths. This is the 4th largest margin ever.

The bay colt, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont stakes winner was born on Groundhog’s day, 2/2/2012 at Stockplace Farm in Kentucky. His sire was Pioneer of the Nile and his dam was Littleprincessemma by Yankee Gentleman. Pioneer of the Nile was 2nd in the 2009 KY Derby. American Pharoah has ran just 8 times and won the last 7 in a row. He was the 2014 Eclipse Award Champion 2 Year Old Colt. He will likely continue to run this year and compete in the Breeders’ Cup but is expected to retire to stud at the end of 2015. His stud rights have already been sold to Ashford Stud in Kentucky.

American Pharoah’s trainer is Robert A. Baffert born 1/13/1953. He was born and raised in Arizona. He became a jockey at a young age. Baffert received a B.S. from University of Arizona’s Track Industry Program. He has trained 4 KY Derby winners, 6 Preakness winners, 2 Belmont winners, 2 KY Oaks winners, 10 Breeders Cup winners and 2 Dubai Cup winners. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1997, 1998 and 1999. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2009.

Victor Espinoza was the jockey. He was born 5/23/72 in Mexico. He became a jockey there and then in California. He has won the KY Derby 3 times and the Preakness 3 times. He was the 1st jockey ever to have a third chance at the Triple Crown and this time it worked out well for him. He is also the 1st Latino jockey to win all 3 legs and at 43 he is the oldest to do so as well.

Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, LCC. is the breeder and owner of American Pharoah. He was born in Cairo, Egypt 8/31/62. He now lives in New Jersey. He has been racing Thoroughbreds since 2005 and has many graded stakes winner and has frequently lead in earnings.

I am hoping that American Pharoah continues to race some more and that I get a chance to see him in the Breeders’ Cup!

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