04/11/2018, Breeders’ Cup Results // Accelerate Finds Top Gear to Win Breeders’ Cup Classic. Victory is first Breeders’ Cup win for trainer John Sadler // Enable Makes History With Brilliant BC Turf Win // Monomoy Girl Leaves No Doubt With Distaff Victory // Shamrock Rose Pulls Off Upset in BC Filly & Mare Sprint // Roy H Sails to Victory in Breeders’ Cup Sprint

 

Accelerate wins the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs

Accelerate wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs

Anne M. Eberhardt,   By  ,  03/11/2018

 

 

With a powerful, four-wide rally and a sustained drive to the wire through the Churchill Downs stretch, Accelerate  scored a one-length victory in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 3 and removed the proverbial monkey from trainer John Sadler’s back.

The Southern California-based conditioner entered the weekend 0-for-41 in the Breeders’ Cup dating to his first starter 30 years ago. The losing streak reached 44 after three World Championships losses Saturday, including an off-the-board finish from 4-5 favorite Catalina Cruiser in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

But Accelerate brought a streak of his own into the 1 1/4-mile Classic—three consecutive grade 1 wins—and he made it four in a row in impressive fashion.

“I’m thrilled. This is what I do every day of the year,” Sadler said. “In order to get the big one, you couldn’t ask for a better day.”

The gate crew had to ask Accelerate a couple of times before he entered the outside post in a field of 14. Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) winner, Mendelssohn , led the field through swift early fractions of a quarter-mile in :22.68 and a half-mile in :46.46, while being tracked by Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner McKinzie with Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) winner Thunder Snow tucked inside.

Entering the far turn under Joel Rosario, Accelerate surged four wide to open a clear advantage into the stretch. Just off the turn, Christophe Soumillon was able to move Thunder Snow out for his run, and he challenged from the rail. Despite conceding ground to his rivals with his outside rally, Accelerate continued his strong run while Thunder Snow tired.

A closing kick from grade 1- placed Gunnevera came too late, as the Dialed In  colt had to settle for second as Accelerate completed the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.93.

Bred in Kentucky by Mike Abraham out of the Awesome Again mare Issues, Accelerate was a $380,000 purchase by bloodstock agent David Ingordo from Bluewater Sales’ consignment to the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

Sadler confessed he wasn’t feeling too good about the day after Selcourt faded in the Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) and Catalina Cruiser didn’t run well. Then Catapult finished a close second in the Mile (G1T).

“But I think I feel that way all the time. We’re prepared for the worst and hope for the best,” said Sadler, who felt as though he was saving his best runner for last. “I felt good about him today. I think Kosta said the same thing. He’s been the best horse in this division all year, so I thought if we had a good trip, he’d be tough.”

Accelerate returned $7.40, $6, and $4.40 across the board. Gunnevera paid $21.80 and $11.80, and Thunder Snow returned $8 to show.

Rosario completed a monster Breeders’ Cup weekend, as he won three of the four two-turn dirt races offered. On Friday he guided Jaywalk to victory in the Tito’s Handmade Vodka Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Game Winner to a score in the Sentient Jet Juvenile (G1).

Victor Espinoza was Accelerate’s rider until he was injured before the TVG Pacific Classic (G1). Sadler said he thought Rosario, one of North America’s strongest riders, would be a good fit for Accelerate, who sometimes needs sustained encouragement. 

“That was about as good as it gets,” Rosario said of Accelerate’s win. “That horse is simply unbelievable. I’m so happy for the owners and John. It was a great performance. He has so much heart.”

Owner Kosta Hronis of Hronis Racing joined his trainer as a first-time Breeders’ Cup winner. With Accelerate closing his season with grade 1 wins in the Classic, Awesome Again Stakes, Pacific Classic, and Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Hronis believes the 5-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky  has built a solid case to challenge Triple Crown winner Justify  for Horse of the Year honors.

Accelerate, who also won this year’s Santa Anita Handicap Presented by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino (G1), boasts five grade 1 wins this season as well as a grade 2 score. In a season that started in early February, Accelerate has won six of seven starts and earned more than $5 million in purses.

“This horse is special. He’s showed up every time. He’s danced every dance. He’s been solid,” Hronis said. “This is Horse of the Year. It’s a body of work, and what he has done in the last 12 months, I think he’s well deserved to be of that honor. There’s no doubt.”

Voters will have to compare that consistency with the spectacular burst of Justify, the 13th Triple Crown winner. 

Sadler said some consideration will be given to running Accelerate in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park. Either way, he will begin his stallion career next season at Lane’s End.

“The plan right now is he’ll probably go up to Lane’s End Farm in Lexington tomorrow, and they’ll show him there as a stallion this week,” Sadler said after the race. “We’ll bring him back to California, and if all is good, we’ll probably go in the Pegasus, kind of our all-out Gun Runner  of last year, and then he’ll go off to stud.”

Trainer Antonio Sano was thrilled with the strong runner-up effort from Gunnevera.

“I’m so happy for this horse. He ran second and had lost a couple lengths at the start,” Sano said. “They sandwiched my horse. Every time we are closer and closer to winning a grade 1. He’s going to race in 2019 and will point to the Pegasus.” 

Saeed bin Suroor, trainer of Godolphin’s Thunder Snow, said a defense of the Dubai World Cup could be in his future.

“He’s run a really big race. I’m very pleased with that,” bin Suroor said. “The winner is a very good horse. This race is special, as it brings together the best horses in the world. We have better horses this year, and we’ve had a better season. He could go to the Dubai World Cup again.”

Yoshida, who was switched to dirt in the summer and won the Woodward Stakes (G1), rallied to finish fourth. 

A couple of horses trying something new didn’t fare well, as top sprinter Mind Your Biscuits failed to come with his rally and finished 11th. Roaring Lion, a multiple group 1 winner this year in Europe, was eased to the wire after a rough start and walked off.

McKinzie and Catholic Boy, the second and third choices on the tote board, finished 12th and 13th, respectively. Catholic Boy had a slow start and was bumped around early.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/230520/accelerate-finds-top-gear-to-win-breeders-cup-classic (to watch the video)

 

 

Enable wins the Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs

Enable wins the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs

Rick Samuels

Enable Makes History With Brilliant BC Turf Win

Two-time Arc de Triomphe (G1) winner galloped into record books while racing wide.

 

Jockey Frankie Dettori was determined to find the best ground for superstar Enable in the $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs after rain in Louisville dampened the turf course earlier in the week. Little did the filly’s connections know how that determination would add to her legacy.

Juddmonte Farms’ homebred two-time Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) winner—now the first Arc winner to triumph at the Breeders’ Cup—was widest of all coming off the far turn in the 1 1/2-mile test and gave her fans a close look as she galloped into the history books.

“She’s done it! She’s conquered America!” Dettori exclaimed on his ride back to the winner’s circle. 

Enable indeed left America’s best turf contenders in her wake, but it was a fellow European she had to put away from the turn to the wire. As Dettori focused on fixing the filly’s spinning wheels after feeling her struggle in the early going, Ryan Moore took advantage of a highway down the inside aboard Coolmore’s Magical, and the 3-year-old gave her elder a run for her money to the line. But as Dettori angled Enable well to the center of the course even in the late going, it was the 4-year-old filly’s class that carried her across the line.

Enable had enough in reserve to win by three-quarters of a length, the crowning achievement of a season hindered by illness and injury. The Breeders’ Cup Turf was just her third start of 2018. She has won nine in a row and has only lost once in her career. 

“She’s been very brave and mentally very strong to get herself here,” trainer John Gosden said. “She did it here today with guts and determination.”

“Injury was a setback at the end of the spring, the beginning of the summer,” said Juddmonte racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe. “Everything that could have gone right did really go right in terms of recuperation. She was back in her box. She was frustrated. She wasn’t going out. She needed some rest.

“She started walking, started trotting, started cantering. All that process is a very vital, vital part of the preparation to make sure she’s right. All that has sort of come together in the embodiment of a really special performance today.”

That performance did not get off to a perfect start. In fifth on Enable, as Glorious Empire showed the way through the early going, Dettori had difficulty maintaining position. He also thought the opening fractions, :24.65 and :49.11, were quick for 1 1/2 miles on soft ground. 

“I was struggling to keep my position. She was shuffling with the legs; she was spinning. I managed to get up off the fence, then she was moving good again. She was happy. She wasn’t struggling.

“I knew that the pace couldn’t keep up. So then I was just waiting for her to give me the message she was ready to go … I just said to myself, ‘Just wait, let her fill herself up with oxygen, then we’ll wait till the straight.’”

Glorious Empire led through a 1:40.55 mile, at which point Enable had been shuffled back to seventh. Shifted out by Dettori into the clear around the far turn, she advanced about nine wide, took command, and floated out even more with Magical in pursuit. The two separated themselves from the field, with nine lengths back to Sadler’s Joy in third behind a final time of 2:32.65 on turf rated good.

“To be honest with you, she eyeballed me, all right,” Dettori said of Magical, who came off a win in the Oct. 20 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1). “At that moment, I didn’t ask (Enable) for full gear. There is that suspense moment when you know she’s going to go or not, and she did—thank God for that.

“I knew (Enable) was fighting for me. Ryan wasn’t going away, was always there. The ground kind of spoiled it for my filly, because I know she likes soft (going), but she really found it difficult. She had every chance of throwing the towel in, but she didn’t. She was very tough. Just look at the space we left till the third. She’s a superstar.”

Enable is the fourth filly to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf, joining Pebbles, Miss Alleged, and Found. Out of the Sadler’s Wells mare Concentric, she improved her record to 10 wins and a third from 11 starts, with earnings of $10,705,631.

In the post-race press conference, Grimthorpe reflected on Enable’s momentous achievement. She joined Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T) winner Expert Eye to give Prince Khalid Abdullah’s operation two winners at the World Championships.

“To have this historic day for Juddmonte really (means so much), to have two major, major winners, and a filly doing something that no other horse has done,” he said. “Prince Khalid has always been a huge supporter of the Breeders’ Cup. First thing in his diary, he wants to know when the Breeders’ Cup is, where it is. He’s been an absolute staunch supporter from the very beginning, the concept of course he has really embraced. He’s shown that we send his best horses to compete here.”

The fact Enable handled her maiden voyage to America with the poise of a runway model and put away Magical with the grit of a prizefighter leaves the racing world wanting more. But like a true icon, she’ll keep her followers guessing about her next move—other than a trip back across the pond to Gosden’s yard at Newmarket.

“I think the most important thing is to at least sit back and just enjoy this,” Grimthorpe said. “We tend to move on far too quickly. Really the enormity of this, for the whole team, it’s been so emotional. She has created those emotions within us all, especially within Juddmonte.

“I’m sure Prince Khalid will want to at least sit back and enjoy this. There’s no great hurry. She’s going to go back home to Newmarket. We’ll make sure she’s all right, then think about the future.”

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/230518/enable-makes-history-with-brilliant-bc-turf-win (to watch the video)

 

 

Monomoy Girl and Florent Geroux win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs

Monomoy Girl and Florent Geroux win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs

Skip Dickstein

Monomoy Girl Leaves No Doubt With Distaff Victory

Daughter of Tapizar cruised to her fifth grade 1 win of the year.

 

 

She had already whipped through all of her sophomore peers, systematically breaking their hearts with casual disdain. And while the record said Monomoy Girl was coming into the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) off a “loss,” the fact remained that the daughter of Tapizar  had yet to face a foe this year who could pass her on the square.

What Brad Cox’s chestnut protégé hadn’t done yet was step out of her division and see how her talent measured up against the older girls, some of whom already had Eclipse Award hardware to their name. Even with a veteran group doing their darnedest to get her to reach the bottom of her well, the story had the same conclusion it almost always has—Monomoy Girl in front at the wire, her rivals chasing in vain.

Monomoy Girl’s reputation as the best sophomore filly in training can officially be replaced with the label of North America’s best female dirt runner, period, after she rode a perfect stalking trip to a one-length victory over Wow Cat in the 1 1/8-mile Distaff Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

Based on top-to-bottom quality, the 11-horse Distaff lineup was one of the best on the Breeders’ Cup card. It featured the last two Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winners in Monomoy Girl and 2017 heroine and divisional champion Abel Tasman. It had multiple grade 1 winner Midnight Bisou, whose résumé would be worthy of 3-year-old filly accolades in most years, and it had some seasoned top-level talents in Wow Cat, Blue Prize, and the recently resurgent Vale Dori.

Not shown in the past-performance lines are the factors that have made Monomoy Girl virtually unbeatable in her 11 career starts. Florent Geroux asserted this week he had yet to ask his equine partner for her all-out run in any race, and even though Midnight Bisou won their last meeting in the Sept. 22 Cotillion Stakes (G1) via disqualification, Cox had the comfort of leading over a horse whose only experience in 2018 had been of exerting her superiority.

“She ran the way she was training,” Cox said. ”She was training like a monster, and she ran like a monster. She is a special filly, one of a kind, an unbelievable filly.”

Part of what makes Monomoy Girl so exceptional is her versatility. When she made her season debut in the Feb. 17 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2), she hit the gate at the start, dropped to last, and still rallied for a 2 1/2-length win. When she took the Kentucky Oaks, her tactical speed and Geroux’s sharp handling allowed her to break from the far outside post and still get into ideal striking position by the time they reached the first turn.

The Distaff was almost a replay of her Oaks experience. Leaving out of post 11, she again was quick on the draw for Geroux and sat second just off pacesetter Wonder Gadot as those two led the procession around the clubhouse turn.

Monomoy Girl remained just off Wonder Gadot’s hip as the latter cut fractions of :23.39 and :47.57. While she was giving Geroux the usual feeling of confidence he is accustomed to when they are paired together, Mike Smith aboard Abel Tasman was sitting to the inside in third hoping the hard work he had done to get her out of the gate and into the race was not for naught.

“It was a great trip. She was super sharp,” Geroux said. “I was able to lay second off Wonder Gadot. I went to the lead past the three-furlong mark, and from there she just kept on going all the way to the wire. This is a filly with great tactical speed, and she loves to win. She’s just unbelievable.”

As they made their way into the far turn, Wonder Gadot gave it up on the front and started her retreat as Monomoy Girl began putting the touches on her coronation. A mild challenge from Blue Prize to her outside loomed a brief threat, but Monomoy Girl opened up by 1 1/2 lengths in the stretch and had plenty left as Wow Cat made a determined surge in the final sixteenth.

“I think the post position hurt us,” said jockey Jose Ortiz aboard Wow Cat. “I had to drop down to the rail, and that probably cost us two or three lengths. We only lost by one (length). She ran her race.”

Midnight Bisou got up for third, with Blue Prize fourth. Abel Tasman faded to last in the field, the worst finish of her career—one that now might be over.

“She just quit. She just quit running,” said Bob Baffert, trainer of Abel Tasman. “Sometimes they do that. I thought she was in a good spot, (Smith) got aggressive with her, but she just doesn’t want to run anymore, it looks like.”

The final time for the distance was 1:49.79 over a track rated fast.

Owned by Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables, Monomoy Girl improved her record to nine wins from 11 starts with $2,954,750 in earnings. She was bred in Kentucky by Frankfort Park Farm and Highfield Ranch out of the Henny Hughes mare Drumette, and was a $100,000 buy from Gainesway’s consignment to the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by BSW Bloodstock agent Liz Crow.

“This is a special horse,” said owner Sol Kumin of Monomoy Stables. “When you think about kind of going on a journey with a horse like this, the partners make a big part of it. You know, the four of us and our partners on a lot of horses together, we’ve had a lot of good ones and a lot of not good ones, and when you get one like this, you really learn to enjoy it and enjoy spending the time together.”

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/230514/monomoy-girl-leaves-no-doubt-with-distaff-victory (to warch the video)

 

 

Shamrock Rose and Irad Ortiz Jr. (center) get the victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs

Shamrock Rose and Irad Ortiz Jr. (center) get the victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs

Anne M. Eberhardt

Shamrock Rose Pulls Off Upset in BC Filly & Mare Sprint

Daughter of First Dude rallied late for the win.

 

Trainer Mark Casse kept hearing the voice of a legend rolling through his mind.

As he evaluated his charge, Shamrock Rose, in the days following her first graded stakes win and watched her behave like a horse with the world at her feet, he recalled a vital lesson imparted to him from one of the great teachers of the game.

“I keep harping on this, but I remember 35 years ago, with (Hall of Famer) Allen Jerkens, and he kept telling me, ‘I don’t understand trainers. They want to give them a rest when they’re running good. Rest them when they’re running bad,’” the Canadian Hall of Fame trainer said. “And that kept going through my mind, because … this filly right now thinks she can beat anybody.”

Shamrock Rose backed up her arrogant attitude by throwing down the goods Nov. 3 in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), when she put in a furious rally under Irad Ortiz Jr. to edge Chalon by a head in the seven-furlong test at Churchill Downs.

To say it has been a wild couple of weeks for owner Conrad Farms would be an understatement. On Oct. 20, the 3-year-old filly stunned the Keeneland faithful when she took the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2) at odds of 18-1. It was the first time the daughter of First Dude  prevailed over such company, but it marked her third consecutive stakes victory after enduring a five-race losing skid.

She was so full of vigor following that outing that the decision was made to pay the $130,000 needed to supplement her to the Filly & Mare Sprint. While the betting public was hesitant to buy in and sent her off at 25-1 Saturday, her connections were taking their cues from her blatant signals.

“It’s never easy to write a check like this, unless you have a lot of money but … we had faith in the horse, and naturally I listened to Mark,” said Manfred Conrad, who operates Conrad Farms with his wife, Penny. “She’s been doing so great the last four races, and why not have the fun and excitement and come here? If you lose, you lose. I mean, it’s a horse race. And I really believe the horse is not done yet.”

Casse described Shamrock Rose as “a terror,” in a good way, since she got some time off following her loss in the April 21 Weber City Miss Stakes. When she returned in the Aug. 5 Malvern Rose Stakes at Presque Isle Downs, she got a confidence boost in the form of a 10 1/4-length victory—and there has been no besting her since.

As the 14-horse field got away in the Filly & Mare Sprint, Shamrock Rose had every one of her rivals to pass as she rated at the rear of the pack while Selcourt bounded out to the lead and cut a sizzling opening quarter-mile in :21.89. When Selcourt reached the far turn and the half-mile went up in :44.99, Ortiz made the decision to save a bit of ground instead of trying a sweeping move around his foes—a move Casse said was the difference between his barn getting its fifth Breeders’ Cup triumph in the last four years and getting its hopes dashed.

“He knew the only chance of winning was to duck in and save ground and come with a run,” Casse said of Ortiz’s ride. “Had he stayed out wide, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

As Chalon ranged up to take over the lead in the lane and began to inch clear, Ortiz guided Shamrock Rose up from eighth through a sea of rivals. When she got by Golden Mischief to her inside, it looked as though she would fill out the exotics. Instead, she kept driving to the outside of Chalon and emerged in a blanket finish that saw the top four separated by a head, neck, and a head, respectively.

“She had a great trip, and Javier (Castellano) gave her a great ride,” said Arnaud Delacour, trainer of Chalon. “The seven-eighths (of a mile) may have been a touch too far, but you can’t take anything away from her. I’m very pleased.”

The final time for the distance was 1:23.13 over a track rated fast. Anonymityput in a strong run from 10th to get up for third, with 4-5 favorite Marley’s Freedom fourth.

“She just didn’t get away like she can,” said Bob Baffert, trainer of Marley’s Freedom. “I am pretty disappointed. And she was pretty wide the whole way. She tried, but she was just not good enough today. You have to be real good today, and she was not real good.”

Bred in Pennsylvania by Best A Luck Farm out of the Elusive Quality mare Slew’s Quality, Shamrock Rose improved her record to five wins from 10 starts with $917,687 in earnings.

“It was $130,000 for (Conrad Farms) to run her, and they had that much faith in me, and I appreciate it,” Casse said. “I knew it was a tall task, but she’s an exceptional filly.”

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/230506/shamrock-rose-pulls-off-upset-in-bc-filly-mare-sprint (to watch the video)

 

 

Roy H wins the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs

Roy H wins the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs

Skip Dickstein

Roy H Sails to Victory in Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Victory was second consecutive win in six-furlong test for son of More Than Ready.

 

Less than two hours after Peter Miller sat down in the Breeders’ Cup press room to field questions about his two-time Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) winner Stormy Liberal Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, the California-based trainer was back in the hot seat. 

Smiling for the camera during his second round of interviews, Miller expressed his appreciation for TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) victor Roy H

“(He’s) just a sound horse,” Miller said. “Just a real solid, sound horse. He brings it every time, and I couldn’t be more proud. Words don’t even express my feelings.”

Though the field for this year’s Sprint was almost identical to last year’s, the start was considerably more bumpy for Roy H. The 6-year-old More Than Ready  gelding hit the wall of his stall in post 9 at the break and wobbled briefly before he could be righted by jockey Paco Lopez.

Promises Fulfilled set the pace on the inside rail but soon faded to second as Roy H found his stride and punched the gas on the outside. 

Running on cruise control four wide on the outside, Roy H took command to hit the half-mile mark in :44.21. Straightening out as the field turned for home, the defending winner kept pounding away at the ground, extending the margin from a half-length to three lengths at the top of the stretch. 

Rallying from last after drifting at the start, Whitmore cut a path through the pack up the middle in a last-ditch effort to run down the leader as they approached the wire. 

Moving with the same speedy clip that earned him the title of champion sprinter last season, Roy H never faltered, crossing the wire 3 1/4 lengths ahead of Whitmore in 1:08.24. 

“He charged today,” Lopez said. “That horse won today with no problem. He knows what’s going on today. He dances. He’s very happy today.” 

Saturday’s win marked milestones for trainer and jockey. Lopez earned his first victory in the Breeders’ Cup, and Miller became the first trainer to saddle back-to-back winners of the same two races in the 35-year history of the Breeders’ Cup. 

“I was a little concerned, actually, when he started moving early on the turn because I had told him, ‘Hey, Paco, it’s a long stretch, just make sure you don’t move too soon,’” Miller said. “But he said this horse was just on fire and loaded from the get-go, from the time he stepped on the track and warmed him up.”

Runner-up Whitmore was followed by favorite Imperial Hint in third. Promises Fulfilled took fourth, 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Limousine Liberal in fifth. B SquaredDistinctive BWarrior’s Club, and Always Sunshinecompleted the order of finish. 

Impressive enough on its own, the win was made even sweeter for Miller and owners Rockingham Ranch and David A. Bernsen, who went through the loss of their promising sprinter Bobby Abu Dhabi who was reported to have died during training at Del Mar from fractures to vertebrae in his neck, which occurred because of a fall as a result of sesamoid fractures in his right front leg. 

“You look at ups and downs in horse racing,” Bernsen said, praising the trainer for leading his team to victory through adversity. “I don’t think anything illustrates it more than what these guys have gone through this year. … But Peter, he deals with these horses every day. So we just turn up, and he’s got them all tuned up for a big run.” 

Bred in Kentucky by Ramona S. Bass out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Elusive Quality mare Elusive Diva, Roy H was purchased for $310,000 by Rockingham Ranch from the Wavertree Stables consignment to the 2014 Keeneland April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He holds a 9-5-2 record from 22 starts with total earnings of $3,019,765. 

“He’s a teddy bear,” Miller said, the emotion evident in his voice. “He’s a love. He just loves to be pet on and loved on. He’s a pleaser. You know, he’s given me more than I could ever give him. 

“I think people were writing him off, and someone, one of the East Coast writers, called me and said, ‘You know, Imperial Hint is a different horse this year,’ and they were trying to scare me or something, said he’s the hype horse. I said, ‘Well, the East Coast horses get the hype, and the West Coast horses get the money. So you guys can hype all you want out here, we’ll take the money with us.” 

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/230510/roy-h-sails-to-victory-in-breeders-cup-sprint (to watch the video)

 

fonte : Bloodhorse.com

 

Churchill Downs Racecourse CHURCHILL DOWNS (USA)

https://www.racingpost.com/results/308/churchill-downs/2018-11-03/715127