Sharing with you my fascinating discoveries about Thoroughbred racing, sales, fashion, food, beverage, tips and more.
On this fine Christmas Eve many children are eagerly awaiting a visit from their favorite mythical gift giver. I am looking forward to attending church and spending the day with friends and family. It is a very special time of the year that requires a great deal of preparation and anticipation. Then, Christmas Day comes and goes like a flash. Fortunately, the big guy in red isn’t the only Santa I’m waiting on. Here comes Santa Claus Anita!
Continue reading “Here Comes Santa…”
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There is always a special feeling of anticipation when our California Chrome is scheduled to race! We will get another spectacular view of this champ tomorrow, 8/20/16, in TVG’s Pacific Classic.
The 26th running of the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes will take place at Del Mar Racetrack in the city by the same name, in California. The inaugural race took place there in 1991. The track is 1 and 1/4th miles (10 furlongs) on dirt. Thoroughbreds age 3 and older may compete for the $1 million dollar purse. This is Del Mar’s finest race to date, I believe . They will host the Breeders’ Cup for the first time in 2017 and in my opinion, the BC Classic is one of the few races that has nearly as much proven talent. The Pacific Classic is one of the qualifying races to earn a chance at the BC Classic, “Win and You’re In.”
Many of the best horses have participated in the Pacific Classic. Cigar, Shared Belief, Game on Dude, Lava Man, Tinners Way and Beholder are a few of my favorites. Making a return this year, Beholder with her 8 competitors are just as talented and impressive as the stars of this historical race. The field is as follows by post/horse/jockey/trainer/owner/age/gender:
In post position one is my number one pick, as well as the morning line favorite, California Chrome. All of the pictures in this story are of Chrome. Each were taken over a precious weekend when I visited him last year, while he rested at Taylor Made Farm in KY. He holds 2 Eclipse Awards, has won 13 of 22 races and holds a record for racing earnings. He is the solo California bred horse in the race, sired by Lucky Pulpit and his dam is Love the Chase.
Hoppertunity, bred in Kentucky, is the progeny of Any Given Saturday and Refugee. He has won 5 of 20 career starts. He was 3rd to Chrome in the 2016 Dubai World Cup. Last year he ran 4th in the Pacific Classic. Hoppertunity is a multiple graded stakes winner.
War Story, also KY bred, is the son of Northern Afleet and Belle Watling. He has placed first in 3 of 12 races. He has had a lot of experience in graded stakes races but not much success.
Another KY boy, Hard Aces is sired by Hard Spun, his dam is All in With Aces. He has won 7 times in his career of 33 starts. He is a multiple graded stakes winner. He was 6th place in the Pacific Classic in 2015. He won his last race/stakes out at Del Mar late July. Perhaps he is on an upswing in California?
The son of Pulpit and Teamgeist is the lovely grey, Win the Space. This horse was bred in KY by Spendthrift Farm. He has won 3 in 12 races. He has not won a graded stakes race.
Imperative is the KY bred offspring of Bernardini and Call Her. He has raced 32 times and has 3 wins. He has not won since 2014 but it was a graded stakes race. He finished 5th in the Pacific Classic in 2015.
Beholder has won an amazing 17 of her 23 races, yet I have never beheld her live myself. She holds 3 Eclipse Awards and finished 1st in the BC Juvenile Fillies, 2012 and BC Distaff, 2013. She is the only filly in the race. Beholder holds a high rank in earnings. She won the Pacific Classic last year. She is the second choice to win per the odds as I write this. Beholder is the KY bred daughter of Henny Hughes and Leslie’s Lady.
In his last race out, Dortmund ran a close 2nd to Chrome in the San Diego Handicap this past July. Dortmund is the KY bred son of Big Brown and Our Josephina. He has won an impressive 8 of 11 races. Dortmund was 3rd in the KY Derby and 4th in the Preakness both up against American Pharoah in 2015. With plenty of talent and California racing experience this guy brings strong competition and is 3rd for the favorite. He shares his trainer, Baffert, with Hoppertunity.
Finally, the last post position is the baby of the bunch, Dalmore. He has 3 wins in his 11 starts. He is the only Florida bred horse in the race. He is the son of Colonel John and Silver Breeze. He won in his last race/graded stakes. He was 5th this year in the California Chrome Stakes.
I have plenty of nerves built up for this showdown. Watch the Pacific Classic live on TVG for Del Mar’s 9th of 11 races on 8/20/16 at 6:15 PM PT. Add 3 hours to that for Eastern Time. Go Chrome!
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Congratulations are in order again as American Pharoah sweeps in one award after another. My last post was on the morning of January 16th. That evening we had the Eclipse Award Ceremony and today we received news of the Longines Awards. American Pharoah won at each event.
The 45th annual Eclipse Awards were held at Gulfstream Park in Florida this past weekend. Winners were chosen in 17 horse and human categories. The finalist were announced on January 6th. All the nominees can be seen in my prior story.
Here are the winners:
As you can see, American Pharoah and his connections won Horse of the Year, 3 year Old Male, Trainer, Owner and Breeder. Pretty impressive but there is more…
American Pharoah has long been acknowledged as a national champion but today he was recognized internationally! On 1/19/16 American Pharoah was named Longines World’s Best Racehorse 2015 at the Claridge’s Hotel in London, England.
Longines is a Swiss watchmaking company. They have historically been associated with sporting events including world equestrian sports. They made their 1st chronograph (a stopwatch) engraved with a mounted jockey in 1878. 3 years later, those chronographs were in use at tracks everywhere to time performance measures. Longines is the official partner and watch of the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA).
The IHFA had it’s earliest beginning in 1961 when horse racing authorities from the United States, Ireland, Great Britain and France came together to form standards to select the best horses. They held the 1st annual International Conference in Paris, France in 1967 with representation of world wide racing authorities. By 1977 the International Classifications were published. In the 1990s North and South America, South Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand came together with racing officials and handicappers to develop the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, which in 2012 became the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The best horse that is 3 years old and up from participating countries, where it was raced or trained, is selected annually. The season runs from 1/1 thru 12/31. The top Grade/Group 1 international races are rated. These ratings are not the same ratings used in many other horse ranking systems. American Pharoah won with an 134 rating. He is followed by Golden Horn (130), Shared Belief (126), Treve (126), Able Friend (125) and Solow (125). Best race and best jockey are selected as well. The Longines World’s Best Horse Race 2015 is the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France followed by the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Further race categories are chosen by surface and distance. The top jockey is Lanfranco Dettori of Great Britain followed by our Victor Espinoza and 5th for Javier Castellano, which is quite different from the Eclipse Award results. To enjoy some of the excitement, see the great new YouTube below.
Congrats again to American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert and Zayat Stables for all the amazing races and accolades. American Pharoah is not racing anymore but he has an exciting new career as a stallion. I am looking forward to his progeny. I love seeing everyone’s #APandMe photos on Twitter and Facebook. Please, keep sharing and hopefully I will go meet the champ soon!
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