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Court Vision
Groom Will Walden, left, and owner B. Wayne Hughes led Court Vision, with Robby Albarado up, into the winner's circle after the Breeders' Cup Mile. Turallure was second and Goldikova third. DAVID COYLE
LOUISVILLE — They still called her name as she came back to be unsaddled, members of the crowd of 65,143 at Churchill Downs seizing the chance to show their appreciation for Goldikova one last time.
For five seasons, the champion mare has spoiled the racing world with her greatness, racking up a European record for top-level wins and establishing a mark in the Breeders' Cup World Championships that might never be equaled.
But in her last attempt at topping her own standard of excellence, the advances of age and the toll of repeatedly making history was something Goldikova couldn't overcome.
Goldikova's attempt to win an unprecedented fourth straight edition of the Breeders' Cup Mile was stymied Saturday when 64-1 shot Court Vision shot past the 6-year-old mare and then held off Turallure in deep stretch to win the $2 million turf contest by a nose with the three-time champion third.
In earning her previous Mile victories and collecting 14 Grade/Group I wins for her career — nine of which came against males — Goldikova had cemented her all-time great status regardless of what transpired in her final career start. Though she had lost three of five starts this season heading into the Mile, her overwhelming class still made her the 6-5 favorite in the eyes of the betting public against a field that included fellow champion Gio Ponti, and Grade/Group I winners Get Stormy, Turallure, Byword and Sidney's Candy.
Having gone winless in his previous six starts, many had forgotten Court Vision too was a multiple Grade I winner. The 6-year-old gave a timely reminder of his best ability when he rallied from next to last in the 13-horse field with a huge kick to dethrone the reigning queen of the turf.
"Now I don't think she can sustain the same speed," said Freddy Head, trainer of Goldikova. "She does a little thing for only the half then she doesn't seem to be able to follow on that. Maybe the mileage and years have taken their toll."
Court Vision, on the other hand, had his best day just when his career might also be coming to a close.
Previously trained by Richard Dutrow and owned by IEAH Stables, the son of Gulch was purchased privately by Spendthift Farm in late August and transferred to the barn of Dale Romans.
"This is the best he's done since I've been getting on him for two years now," winning jockey Robby Albarado said. "I attribute that to Dale giving him that undivided attention and treating him like the great horse he is."
The dark bay horse hadn't hit the board since winning the 2010 Grade I Woodbine Mile and has been slated to stand at Park Stud in Canada for the 2012 season. With the way he has impressed his new conditioner since running seventh in the latest edition of the Woodbine Mile on Sept. 18, those plans may have to be rethought.
"For the last couple of weeks, he's just been topping himself," Romans said. "He only got beat 3 lengths in Canada, which was the first race off of a longer layoff. He was just moving so good over the racetrack."
After saving ground along the rail in fourth while Get Stormy carved out the opening half in :48.18, jockey Olivier Peslier angled Goldikova hard out into Courageous Cat in the stretch, a move that prompted an objection, which was disallowed shortly after the race.
The duo struck the front in the final furlong but Court Vision was rolling on the far outside under Albarado and had enough momentum to hold off an equally fast-moving Turallure on his flank, finishing in 1:37.05 over a firm course.
"No regrets," said Peslier, who rode Goldikova in all of her 27 starts, guiding her to 17 total wins for career earnings of $7,176,551. "When we came on the turn there was no place to go. But she got through with good acceleration. I am full of emotion. I hope she does well and that someday I will ride her baby."
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/06/1948747/court-vision-too-strong-for-goldikova.html#ixzz1cvuhvgiT
By Alicia Wincze Hughes— awincze@herald-leader.com
Posted: 12:00am on Nov 6, 2011; Modified: 8:00am on Nov 6, 2011
Tornado touches down at Churchill Downs, Ky.
Tornado touches down at Churchill Downs, Ky.
A horse is walked out of barn 40 which was damaged at Churchill Downs after storms passed through the area in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, June 22, 2011. (AP Photo)
(CBS/AP)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The famed Churchill Downs horse race track, longtime home to the Kentucky Derby, was hit by a possible tornado Wednesday, knocking down parts of barns and chasing out horses that ran loose before being corralled, officials said.
Louisville, Ky., police told CBS News earlier that a tornado appeared to have touched down briefly in the infield of their racetrack.
Hours after the storm hit, officials had no reports of injuries to humans or horses at the track on the southwestern side of Louisville. Elsewhere in the city, high water from torrential rains trapped a couple of people in their cars, a mayor's spokesman said, and a hospital reported that it treated two patients hit by falling trees.
The National Weather Service said radar was tracking a confirmed tornado near the track and the University of Louisville campus about 8:10 p.m. Though no races are run on Wednesdays, a simulcast of races elsewhere was being shown in the theater, and a Texas Hold 'em poker tournament was being held, officials said.
Photos: The 2011 Kentucky Derby
Photos: Kentucky Derby hats
Photos: Stars at the Kentucky Derby
The National Weather Service confirmed reports of a tornado in the area, which also struck the University of Louisville campus.
At least nine barns were damaged, as was the chapel. The barn damage was on the backside of the track where workers live in the dorms, said track President Kevin Flanery.
"It's a hell of a mess back here," track spokesman John Asher said of the barn area where the damage was concentrated.
The iconic twin spires above the clubhouse overlooking the finish line were not apparently damaged, Flanery said.
"Clearly we've got several barns with significant damage and we're just trying to make sure people and the animals are safe first," Flanery said.
Some horses had gotten loose for a time, but were later caught, Asher said. At least 1,300 horses were stabled at Churchill, said vice president of racing Donnie Richardson.
Vans were being brought in to move horses out of downpours that fell into the night and from the barns, Asher said. At least one barn was flooded by a water main break and horses were being moved to a safe area. The nearby state fairgrounds and Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington offered stall space if it was needed, he said.
The Kentucky Derby, the first leg of horseracing's Triple Crown, has been run for 136 years at the track. It has a capacity to handle a crowd of some 160,000-plus for the annual spring tradition known as much for its mint juleps and fancy hats as the racing.
The track, owned by Churchill Downs Inc., underwent extensive renovations in 2002 and 2003 totaling more than $200 million. Thursday's racing card was cancelled because of the damage.
In August 2009, a flash flood heavily damaged the Kentucky Derby Museum, situated just off Gate 1 at Churchill Downs. The museum was closed for nine months while it underwent a $5.5 million renovation.
No damage has been reported at the university, which is sparsely populated at this time of year, but power was out around campus, said John Drees, a university spokesman. Widespread reports of damage to buildings all over the Louisville metro area was reported from the storms that continued to move through into the night. The worst appeared to be at Churchill Downs, though, said Chris Poynter, a spokesman for Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
Eyewitnesses said they saw about a dozen power poles downed near the track and university. A weather service team will determine whether a tornado or straight line winds did the damage. Some 5,000 customers were without power around the Louisville area.
Storm sirens wailed in Kentucky's largest city as multiple tornado warnings were issued as the storm went through.
"It looks like we dodged what could have been a really bad ... evening," Poynter said.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/22/national/main20073539.shtml#ixzz1Q7gxVBvm
C.S. Silk
6/12/11 (Last updated: 6/11/11 7:48 PM)
Silk looks smooth in Just a Game upset
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| C. S. Silk stole her first Grade 1 title (Jim Tyrrell/Horsephotos.com) |
On Preakness Day, trainer Dale Romans watched Paddy O'Prado capture the Dixie S. (G2) on turf before sending out Shackleford (Forestry) to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico. Romans will hope that history repeats itself at Belmont Park on Saturday, for C. S. SILK (Medaglia d'Oro) posted a wire to wire upset in the $400,000 Just a Game S. (G1) on turf about two hours before Shackleford's bid in the Belmont S. (G1). Dispatched at 12-1, C. S. Silk spurted away beneath Javier Castellano to prevail by three lengths, paying $27.20, $12.60 and $7.50.
William Pacella, George Bonomo and Fred Barbara's C. S. Silk was earning her first Grade 1 coup, but she had missed by just a half-length to Proviso (GB) in last October's First Lady S. (G1) at Keeneland. The five-year-old mare's best performance so far in 2011 was another second in the February 12 Endeavour S. (G3) at Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, that was bookended by a pair of disappointments, a 10th in the January 9 Marshua's River S. (G3) at Gulfstream Park and a ninth in the April 16 Jenny Wiley S. (G2) at Keeneland. The wagering public focused more on those efforts, resulting in the overlay.
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Seizing the initiative in a race lacking an unambiguous front runner, C. S. Silk carved out steady fractions of :25 1/5, :50 2/5 and 1:15 2/5 on the good Widener turf course. Much Rejoicing (Distorted Humor) and Amen Hallelujah (Montbrook) were tracking closely, but 3-2 favorite Aviate (GB) (Dansili [GB]) was reserved in midpack, where she ended up never landing a blow. Fantasia (GB) (Sadler's Wells), on the other hand, was able to mount a strong rally from dead last.
By that point, however, C. S. Silk was long gone. The longtime leader kicked clear at the top of the stretch, built up a daylight lead, and completed the soggy mile in 1:40 2/5.
"I know the turf is soft," Castellano said. "She loves it; she handled it so well. She was comfortable on the lead. She really enjoyed the trip. It was beautiful. I think the key was getting her to relax at the first quarter. For the first quarter of a mile, she was relaxed. We walked with the 25-second first quarter. The rest was history. When I asked her, it was like I pushed a button and she took off."
"The turf today suited us perfectly," Romans noted. "We've had her since she was a yearling, and she has been a little bit fickle where she'd throw in a bad race and then throw a good one. We just can't give up on her. She pays you off when she's right."
Fantasia got up late to take runner-up honors, one length ahead of Amen Hallelujah. Justaroundmidnight (Ire) (Danehill Dancer) checked in fourth. Gypsy's Warning (SAf) (Mogok), Aviate, Much Rejoicing, Strike the Bell (Mizzen Mast) and Cherokee Queen (Cherokee Run) rounded out the order of finish.
"(Fantasia) was gradually running," trainer Jonathan Sheppard said, "but she wasn't going to catch the winner; it was going to have to be another eighth of a mile, I think. I'm kind of anxious to try this filly a bit longer now, because she really seems to be staying well and finishing well."
C. S. Silk's biggest career victory improved her mark to 24-7-5-2, $776,896. A six-length winner of the 2008 Arlington-Washington Lassie S. (G3) on Polytrack, she concluded her juvenile season with a runner-up effort in the Delta Princess S. (G3) on dirt. C. S. Silk lost her way at three, but ultimately found herself as a four-year-old on the turf. She garnered the 2010 Addison Mallery S. at Saratoga and placed in the Locust Grove H. (G3) and Ellis Park Turf S. prior to her terrific try in the First Lady.
Bred by Hermitage Farm in Kentucky, C. S. Silk was sold for $120,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. She was produced by the stakes-winning Remember the Day (Settlement Day), making her a half-sister to Grade 3 victor Remember Sheikh (Sheikh Albadou [GB]), multiple stakes scorer Memory Tap (Pleasant Tap) and the winning Since Time Began (Rubiano), the dam of Grade 3 queen Victorina (Delaware Township). Remember the Day's latest foal is an unnamed yearling colt by Indygo Shiner.
"She's from Medaglia d'Oro's first crop, and everybody knows what his fillies have done," Romans said. "She has three or four half-brothers and sisters who are stakes horses, and it's huge getting a Grade 1 win with her."
In Race or Behind the Scenes, Women Cement Their Gains in the Industry
June 11, 2011
In Race or Behind the Scenes, Women Cement Their Gains in the Industry
By MELISSA HOPPERT
This Triple Crown season has been rife with story lines, many involving women. Rosie Napravnik posted the highest finish by a female jockey in the Kentucky Derby — ninth with Pants On Fire. Kathy Ritvo, recovering from a heart transplant, trained Mucho Macho Man for all three legs of this grueling series.
But a woman behind the scenes has been just as important.
When the trainer Dale Romans needed to decide whether to enter Shackleford, who was fourth in the Derby and won the Preakness Stakes, in Saturday’s Belmont, he turned to the person he trusted most, Tammy Fox.
Fox has had two children with Romans, and she is familiar with Shackleford. She rides him during workouts — and has watched him blossom from an immature 2-year-old into a champion.
“She said all along he was a good horse,” Romans said of Shackleford, who led most of the Belmont but faded to fifth. “She kind of called it early in his career. And she’s been good about giving feedback on his breezes — when he’s on his game, when he’s moving forward — which has been good because it helps make decisions on how often we should run him.”
Fox had a precocious start in horse racing. Her father, Billy Fox, was a jockey and trainer at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. He put her on a racehorse when she was 12.
“We used to sneak on the racetrack right before they would close, right before 10 o’clock,” she said. “And he would be on his pony and I would be on one of the racehorses, and he would go around the racetrack with me and help me out and tell me what I should be doing on a horse and what I was doing wrong.”
And so the seeds were planted for a 23-year career as a jockey, in which she won 236 races from 2,227 mounts, earning $3.5 million.
“I’ve had it easy,” Fox said of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. “I grew up with all those guys riding and I was around it all my life. I’ve been very fortunate in that respect that I didn’t have to go out hustling trying to get mounts and stuff. I had my dad there for me, who put me on pretty much the best of what he had to get me started.”
She met Romans more than 20 years ago when she went to Kentucky to ride. Her brother, Billy Fox Jr., who was riding for Romans at the time, gave her a list of people to help her get started.
“Dale was the first one I went to talk to, and I didn’t need to see anything else,” she said with a chuckle before adding that she had not been looking for a boyfriend, only for work. Romans, who is part of a racing family as well, asked her out soon after, but they did not officially start dating for about a year.
Fox now rides exclusively for the burly, 6-foot-3 Romans, who she said is practically a teddy bear. At only 4 feet 6 inches and 97 pounds, she is the strong arm of the operation.
“He doesn’t boss anybody around,” Fox said. “In some of the barns, there’s a lot of yelling and stuff going on. He’s not the type that’s going to embarrass you in front of anybody. If he doesn’t like what you’re doing, he’ll call you off to the side and he’ll say, ‘Hey, I want you to do this, I want you to do that.’ Me, I’ll speak my mind.”
In 2005, Fox found another outlet for her toughness —football.
“I was going to the racetrack one morning, and there was an interview on the radio saying that there was tryouts for this women’s football team,” Fox, 46, said of the Kentucky Karma of the National Women’s Football Association. “And the next day, I went out there and tried out for running back and made the team.
“They were serious. There was N.F.L. rules; the girls were big and they were tough. I mean, I got hit, I got banged up, the conditioning was brutal. We were practicing four days a week, about three hours a day. Those girls don’t play around.”
Much like Fox, Ritvo, 42, grew up on the track’s back side. Her father, Peter Petro, was a horse owner before he died of a heart ailment in 2007. Her brothers — Michael, a trainer, and Nick, a jockey — are based at Delaware Park. Another brother, Louis, was a jockey who died of complications from cardiomyopathy, a degenerative heart disease, at 38 in 1996.
Ritvo received her training license on her 18th birthday, but her career was derailed in 2001, when she learned that she, too, had cardiomyopathy. She had a heart transplant in 2008. Last October, when her husband, Tim Ritvo, a former jockey and trainer, became the director of East Coast racing for MI Developments , she said she felt healthy enough to take over his stable. With it came Mucho Macho Man, a promising 2-year-old. He finished seventh on Saturday.
“There’s only a certain amount of horses that get to that level,” Ritvo said. “And if you’re lucky enough to be associated with one of them, it’s a miracle. It’s a miracle that I’m even here altogether.”
Fox said women like Ritvo and Napravnik, 23, who this year became the first female jockey to win the Louisiana Derby and the first to win a riding title at the storied Fair Grounds, were a sign of what is to come in the industry.
“It’s a lot easier for the girls around the whole business, from training to riding to exercise girls,” Fox said. “The men don’t look at us in that respect anymore. We’re one of the guys. It’s not ‘Oh, she’s a girl’ anymore. Now it’s more ‘She’s a horse person.’
“And it’s going to be a lot easier for the next generation of girls. You see those little kids come out to the racetrack on tours, and it’s always the little girls more so than the boys that want to mess with the horses.”
For Fox and Romans, who have horse racing in their blood, being part of Shackleford’s journey has been a dream come true.
“It takes so many people, and so many things have to go right,” Romans said after winning the Preakness, his first victory in a Triple Crown race. “It’s a huge accomplishment for Tammy, who breezes him every morning and lets me leave town every winter with all the horses while she takes care of the kids. It just takes everybody working together to get this done.”
After the Belmont, Romans was disappointed but still proud and optimistic.
“We had it the way we wanted,” he said. “He just didn’t hang on. It’s still wide open for a champion 3-year-old.”
As a now-healthy Ritvo says, “A good horse makes you feel good.”
 
Romans Says Shackleford a 'Go' for Belmont
Romans Says Shackleford a 'Go' for Belmont
Date Posted: 6/4/2011 10:10:30 AM
Last Updated: 6/5/2011 7:50:34 AM
By Steve Haskin and Ron Mitchell
After Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Shackleford breezed five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 at Belmont Park June 4, trainer Dale Romans said the Forestry colt will run in the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I). The fractional splits were the first eighth in :12 1/5, three furlongs in :36 1/5, five furlongs in 1:00 1/5, and he galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.
“He worked super,” Romans said of the exercise regimen in which his partner, Tammy Fox, was aboard Shackleford. “He finished good and I love his energy. He’s handling the track and doing everything the way he’s supposed to, so it’s a go. As long as he comes out of the work good, he will run.”
Romans had been waiting for the breeze to decide definitively whether the homebred who races for Mike Lauffer and Bill Cubbedge would again face Animal Kingdom in the third leg of the Triple Crown. Animal Kingdom, who is scheduled for his final workout June 6, won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and finished second in the Preakness. Shackleford finished fourth in the Derby before turning the tables to win the Preakness.
“I’m excited,” Romans said. “He’s coming into the race the right way and I think he’s going to be very competitive. It will be fun to have a little rivalry going.
“I think he will handle the (1 1/2-mile) distance. Under the right scenario he will be fine. You would think (he would be on the lead). He’s been on the lead the last two races. I don’t know who’s going to jump in and try to get in front of him.”
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/63396/romans-says-shackleford-a-go-for-belmont#ixzz1OPaP0nWD
Eastern Kentucky owners revel in Shackleford's Preakness success
Eastern Kentucky owners revel in Shackleford's Preakness success
12:18 AM, Jun. 2, 2011 |
Kentucky Derby entry: Shackleford: Shackleford finished second in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and is headed for the Kentucky Derby.
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Mike Lauffer, right, holds the Woodlawn vase trophy in front of jockey Jesus Castanon (blue helmet) and trainer Dale Romans, second from top left, and his family in the winner's circle following 136th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 21, 2011, in Baltimore. Romans family members are: Jacob Romans, front left, wife Tammy Fox, front center, and Bailey Romans also holding the trophy, (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) / Patrick Semansky/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Romans' plan is for Shackleford to run in Belmont
Romans' plan is for Shackleford to run in Belmont
12:24 PM, May. 26, 2011 |
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Former jockey Mark Guidry joins Dale Romans at Churchill Downs
Former jockey Mark Guidry joins Dale Romans at Churchill Downs
12:39 AM, May. 26, 2011 |
Mark Guidry
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Paddy O'Prado retired with fractured sesamoid
Paddy O'Prado retired with fractured sesamoid
By Jay Privman
Barbara D. Livingston
Paddy O'Prado and Dale Romans last week at Pimlico, prior to his comeback win in the Dixie.
Paddy O’Prado, who won the Grade 2 Dixie Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico, has been retired because of a fractured sesamoid bone in his right front ankle, his trainer, Dale Romans said Monday.
“He broke off the top part of his outside sesamoid,” Romans said on a teleconference.
Romans said the injury was detected after Paddy O’Prado was flown back to Churchill Downs on Sunday and X-rays were taken. Paddy O’Prado returned to Churchill Downs with Shackleford, who won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday for Romans.
Paddy O’Prado began showing signs of lameness in the test barn at Pimlico after the Dixie and had to be vanned back to the stakes barn, where he was residing while at Pimlico. Romans on Sunday morning at Pimlico said he thought the injury was merely a foot bruise.
“We are very disappointed today to see Paddy’s career end so suddenly,” Jerry Crawford, the managing partner of the Donegal Racing syndicate which owns Paddy O’Prado, said in a press release. “This is what is best for Paddy. He will make a full recovery and embark on the next stage of his career.”
Stud plans have not been finalized, though Crawford on the teleconference said his phone had been ringing “quite regularly” on Monday. Crawford said he there were “18 potential suitors” who inquired about Paddy O’Prado for stud duty last year before the decision was made to keep Paddy O’Prado in training for this year.
Paddy O’Prado, a 4-year-old son of El Prado, won 5 times in 14 starts and earned more than $1.7 million. He was purchased as a yearling by Donegal for $105,000.
The Dixie was the first start for Paddy O’Prado since he finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last fall at Churchill Downs.
Though he ran well in the BC Classic and finished third in the Kentucky Derby last year, Paddy O’Prado had his greatest success on turf. He won four graded stakes on turf last year, including the Grade 1 Secretariat at Arlington. He also won the Virginia Derby, the Colonial Turf Cup, and the Palm Beach Stakes, and was second to Winchester in the Turf Classic. Paddy O’Prado also finished second on Polytrack in last year’s Blue Grass Stakes.
Romans Rise
Romans' Rise - By Eric Mitchell
24 May 2011 9:37 AM
(Originally published in the May 28, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)
By Eric Mitchell - @EJMitchellKy on Twitter
All American grade school children grow up hearing the story. Anyone with enough drive and ambition can one day be President of the United States.
The same lesson applies to trainers who aspire to win Thoroughbred racing’s toughest, most prestigious races. For Dale Romans, those most important races are the American Triple Crown, which is saying something considering Romans has already won the world’s richest race, the $6 million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) in 2005 with Roses in May.
The World Cup is great, but Romans said his crowning achievement to date came May 21 when he won his first American classic in his eighth attempt, with Shackleford in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
“There is nothing like winning at home in America,” Romans said during an interview that aired on Courier-Journal.com. “This race puts you in the history books. Horse racing is built around these three races. That’s why everyone is buying horses because they want to get to these three races.”
Standing at the cupola in the Preakness winner’s circle was certainly a place Romans never imagined he would be when he got his trainer’s license at age 18 in 1986.
“From where we started, no one would have believed we would be competing in these kinds of races,” he said the afternoon of May 22 in between answering several hundred e-mails and text messages he’d received over the previous 18 hours. “I never thought training a stakes horse was a realistic goal starting out—much less a classic winner. Anybody that sticks to what their goals are and works hard at it, anyone can do it.”
Romans, a Louisville, Ky., native, grew up on the backside of Churchill Downs. He was walking hots at around 10 years old and making $50 per day rubbing horses. His father, Jerry, a successful trainer for nearly 35 years, was the one who gave Romans his foundation as a conditioner. Where father and son differed was on the level each felt comfortable competing. Of Jerry Romans’ 5,407 lifetime starters, 71% were claimers. That was his niche—handicapping, claiming, and the art of putting modest horses in the right spot to win. Dale Romans embraced those skills and then raised the bar for himself; he wanted top-notch stakes horses in his barn.
Five years would pass before Romans won his first black-type race with Morning Punch in the 1991 Florence Stakes at Turfway Park. In 1996 Romans had his first graded stakes winner in Victor Avenue, who won the Fall Highweight Handicap (gr. II) and the Gravesend Handicap (gr. III), both at Aqueduct. Then came 2004 when his barn exploded with talent. Romans had seven stakes winners with five different owners. The stars were grade I winners Roses in May and Kitten’s Joy, both owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, and grade II winner Halory Leigh, owned by partners Jerry Crawford, Matt Gannon, and Charlie Grask.
Romans entered a horse in his first classic in the 2005 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) with Nolan’s Cat, who came from dead last after a mile to finish third at odds of 20-1. In 2006 he had a horse in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) for the first time with Sharp Humor, who had won the Swale Stakes (gr. II) and finished second in the Florida Derby (gr. I) by a half-length to Barbaro. Sharp Humor finished a disappointing 19th.
He kept knocking on the door, coming back in the 2010 Kentucky Derby with Paddy O’Prado, who finished third, and then taking both First Dude and Paddy O’Prado to the Preakness where they finished second and sixth, respectively.
“Going into these races, you just have to have a horse that is doing absolutely perfect, no hitches in the training, or you are not going to get anything,” Romans said. Besides having the right horse, the key to success, he learned, is to stay consistent and train the horse as if a classic race were like any other.
Everything finally came together for him with Shackle-ford. The son of Forestry led the Kentucky Derby field this year for a mile before fading to finish fourth but came back with a dynamite performance in the Preakness, holding off favorite and Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
“It puts your whole career in perspective,” Romans said. “This is what we’ve been working toward every morning of every day.”
There is one more set of pegs sitting above the bar Romans has steadily raised since 1986. It’s Romans’ equivalent of showing up for work in the Oval Office.
“Nothing beats the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “Hopefully, one day we’ll get one of those, too.”
Preakness Undercard | Paddy O'Prado whistles in Dixie
Preakness Undercard | Paddy O'Prado whistles in Dixie
Rallies from last for Grade II win
12:32 AM, May. 22, 2011 |
Shackleford wins Preakness 2011
Maryland race has Kentucky flavor as Shackleford holds on to win
12:32 AM, May. 22, 2011 |
Dale Romans discusses Shackleford's Preakness vict...: Trainer Dale Romans discusses his horse Shackleford winning the 2011 Preakness
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Shackleford, center, ridden by Jesus Castanon, works down the stretch in front of Animal Kingdom, left, ridden by Mike Smith, and Astrology, right, during the 136th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 21, 2011, in Baltimore. Shackleford won the race. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Shackleford, right, with Jesus Castanon aboard, crosses the finish line to win the 36th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 21, 2011, in Baltimore. Animal Kingdom, with John Velazquez aboard, took second place. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) / /
PREAKNESS PAYOFFS
WINNER
(5) Shackleford
27.20 | 10.20 | 6.80
SECOND
(11) Animal Kingdom
— | 4.20 | 3.60
THIRD
(1) Astrology
— | — | 8.00
Paddy O'Prado wins Dixie Stakes 2011
Bloodhorse Article
Pimlico officials said on May 8 that as many as four starters from the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) could gather in Baltimore on May 21 for the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and that the interests of nine other horses who did not compete in the Derby have expressed interest in contesting the Preakness.
Trainer Graham Motion informed Pimlico officials, including track president Tom Chuckas, that he is “excited” about the chances of Derby winner Animal Kingdom in the middle leg of the Triple Crown. Chuckas called Motion shortly after his appearance on NBC’s “Today” show to congratulate the Maryland-based conditioner on his Derby victory with the Team Valor International homebred and to personally invite him to the Preakness.
“We certainly plan to be there,” Motion said. “It is going to be exciting. I feel really good because we are coming to the next leg with a fresh horse, which is going to be in our favor.”
Motion said the plan is to ship Animal Kingdom from Louisville, Ky. to the Fair Hill Training Center on Tuesday, May 10. The colt is scheduled to return to the track at Fair Hill, located about 60 miles from Pimlico, on Wednesday morning. Motion, 46, has not decided when his star will ship to Pimlico but said it will be “fairly last minute”.
A native of England, who moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of 16, Motion has been involved in Maryland racing for 26 years. He worked for Jonathan Sheppard and Bernie Bond before going out on his own in 1993. He was among the top 10 trainers in Maryland from 1995-2001 and was based at Laurel Park for the first 10 years of his career before moving his stable to the Fair Hill Training Center in 2002.
Animal Kingdom will be Motion’s fourth Preakness starter. He finished third in 2008 with Icabad Craneand also saddled Bay Eagle (2001, 8th) and Equality (2002, 13th) in Maryland’s signature race.
The Preakness is expected to feature three of the top four finishers from Saturday’s Run For The Roses, as well as betting favorite Dialed In, trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito. Trainers Kathy Ritvo of third-place finisher Mucho Macho Man and Dale Romans, conditioner of Shackleford, who finished fourth, said they are planning to run in the Preakness.
Trainer Steve Asmussen, who has lifted the Woodlawn Vase twice in the last four years with Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra (2009), told Pimlico racing officials that no decision has been made on the Derby runner-up, Nehro. However, Asmussen confirmed Preakness plans for Astrology, who finished second in the Jerome Stakes in his last start and has never been out of the money in seven career outings.
Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who has saddled five Preakness winners, indicated the status of Midnight Interlude(16th, Kentucky Derby) and Grade II Rebel Stakes winner The Factor would not be made until next weekend.
Connections from nine other runners, who did not compete in the Derby, have also expressed interest in the Preakness. The potential new shooters, in alphabetical order, are Concealed Identity, Dance City, Flashpoint, King Congie, Mr. Commons, Norman Asbjornson, Prime Cut, Saratoga Red, and Sway Away.
The Preakness is limited to 14 starters.
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/62955/nine-new-shooters-could-join-fray-at-pimlico#ixzz1Ls6mYOBs
Thoroughbred Times Story
THOROUGHBRED TIMES correspondent and horse racing blogger Teresa Genaro will be talking with notable racing personalities about their first Kentucky Derby experiences. On Thursday, Genaro talked to Kiaran McLaughlin and Dale Romans.
by Teresa Genaro
While bringing a horse to the Kentucky Derby (G1) for the first time is a thrill for any trainer, it holds special meaning for the trainers who have grown up on and around the Kentucky tracks. As Kiaran McLaughlin, trainer of Soldat, said this week, “The Breeders’ Cup might be considered our Super Bowl day, but the Kentucky Derby is our Super Bowl race.”
Trainer Dale Romans practically grew up on the Churchill Downs backstretch; his father was a trainer, and the first Derby that Romans recalls attending “on the front side” was in 1977, when Seattle Slew won it. He hasn’t missed once since.
“After that race, Seattle Slew became my favorite horse. I was 9, so I didn’t know a lot about handicapping, but even as a little kid, I knew that there was something special about him,” he recalled.
“I don’t really remember a lot of the details of the race. I just remember being in awe of how crowded it was, and of how he ran.
“Years later, when he was older and got sick, I went over to Three Chimneys. They gave me a tour, and they let me go pet him. And he bit me. But he’s still my favorite.”
The first horse that Romans trained to the Derby was Sharp Humor in 2006.
“It was exciting,” he said, “but it was a lot of stress, a lot more than the last two Derbies I’ve had horses in.”
Adding to the stress of that first Derby was that Romans had a TV crew following him around; Sharp Humor was one of the horses featured in The First Saturday in May, and leading up to the race the crew followed Romans and his horse, no doubt heightening the expectations and pressure for a hometown trainer making his first start in the big race. Sharp Humor finished 19th.
“It’s tough to be here and lose,” Romans admitted. “The walkover is the greatest thing ever. The walk back when you didn’t win is terrible.”
McLaughlin grew up in Lexington and spent his first Derby on the backside.
“I can’t tell you who won it, or even the exact year. I was working, and I first got licensed as a groom in 1979, so it was probably 1980 or 1981. I was here working for Jim Burchell, and I¬ watched the Derby from on top of barn 10; we climbed up on top of our barn as they ran down the backside. We’d have a big barbecue there.”
“I was working, so I wasn’t so into what horse won,” he said. “Still, it felt like a special day, with 100,000 people here. It was a party all week, but I had to work and get up early, so I wasn’t into partying so much.”
“I had my first horse in the Derby in 2005, Closing Argument, and he finished second. He had a great run, and at the eighth pole I thought we were going to win. We were on the lead. But he got beat half a length to Giacomo.”
He still smiles at the memory.
“Right after the race, you feel like it’s a great success. I was thinking, ‘He’s 72-1, he runs second – great, no pressure.’
“But then two minutes later, you say, ‘Damn! That was the Kentucky Derby! Wow!’ So it kind of hits you a little bit later: you almost won the Kentucky Derby.”
Teresa Genaro is a New York City-based correspondent of Thoroughbred Times who blogs at BrooklynBackstretch.com
After the Derby
After the Derby: Decompression
By Brendan O'Meara / Published 05.08.2011 @ 9:24 am
Trainer Dale Romans had an intense Derby day. The Kentucky native won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff with Sassy Image. He then saddled a slick colt in Shackleford, who finished a gutsy fourth in the Kentucky Derby.
Finally, all that stress, all that buildup, crashed into a heap of buddies, Blue Moon, and brisket at the home of Dale Romans and his wife, Tammy Fox.
“For he’s a jolly good fellow!,” his friends sung, “which nobody can deny!”
“I’m glad everyone could be a part of it,” Romans said. “It was a great weekend. I look forward to it every year. Hopefully we can do it next year.”
“Happy Derby Day!,” yelled the friends.
They passed out cake and sipped bourbon. John Hennegan, one of the filmmakers of the documentary “The First Saturday in May,” and now a close friend of the family, strolled around capturing the night on his camera. There was no music. There was no yelling. The volume on the stereo was low. The night’s breeze brushed over the deck allowing Romans to finally relax.
“Decompress,” Romans said. Shackleford was Romans’ third Derby starter and the one who left the best taste in his mouth. In 2006 Sharp Humor ran “terrible.” In 2010 Paddy O’Prado closed for third but, “I thought we should’ve had second.” And he’s right.
Romans’ phone rang, “This is the owner. It’s the first time I talked to him.”
Romans’ daughter, Bailey, who has been to the Derby all of her 18 years, graduates from high school in early June, and plans on taking the pre-med track at Dayton University in hopes of becoming a dermatologist. For now. She said that could change.
Hennegan sidestepped to film her speaking and Bailey was quick to rib him for leaving most of her footage out of the documentary in favor of her brother Jacob. “More than bitterness,” she said. Once, she even had to snap a picture of her brother, father, and some fans who recognized Jacob and Romans from the movie. “He gave me the camera!,” Bailey said. “I get looked over.”
In the Romans’ kitchen hangs a framed photograph of a two-year-old Bailey on her tip-toes at her father’s barn. A horse craned its neck out and down to the ground. Bailey had two hands on its face and was trying to kiss it on the nose. All the other horses on the shedrow peered and watched almost as if they were jealous.
“I’ve been around it my whole life,” said Bailey. “The best part [of the Derby] is the walkout. The excitement from the crowd. You can’t recreate it. You hear the roar, ‘Dale! Dale! Shackleford! Shackleford!’”
Bailey is unequivocally proud her father because she knows how he started out in this game.
“His father was a trainer,” Bailey said. “He worked at the track and started mucking stalls, grooming, hot walking and made his way through the ranks, never thought he’d have a Derby mount. Now he has a horse in the Derby. It’s an accomplishment. My dad’s won huge races. He won the Dubai World Cup with Roses in May in 2005. But it’s not enough. They’re all great but the one race — scratch all others — would be to win the Derby.”
Which is why they’re all here, enjoying the refreshing May Derby breeze and forgiving weather of the night. The folks here have been tied to the Romans for years, no hangers-on, no cronies, they might as well be camping by a fire in the Australian Outback.
“We come together,” Bailey said. “My dad’s gone six months out of the year and at Derby time he comes home and things like this happen. Everyone’s together: his brother from California, his uncle from North Carolina, he’s the one who owns Sassy’s Image.”
Sassy Image sprung a 16-1 upset and, “We kept it in the family,” Bailey said. “My dad trains her, my mom rides her (in the mornings) and my uncle owns her.”
Archie, the family bulldog, scampered by, prompting Bailey to add, “He loves me and hates my brother.”
Then she looked around at all the people, the family, what the Derby and the grind have delivered, “I cherish these moments,” she said.
So too did Kyle Nagel, a longtime friend, who went from owning just a handful of horses with Romans to owning 32 seemingly overnight.
Once, at Saratoga, they ran a claimer named Super Forbes and won, back when beginnings were clothed in anonymity and when $10,000 claiming races were every bit as big as Grade 1s.
“Back then,” said Nagel, “it was a big party. It was all about being together, us, friends and family and raising our kids together. It was like we won the Kentucky Derby for Dale. It was so hard. We go on to win two, three, four races. I really believe that’s when Dale blossomed. He has a great eye for horses.”
“This couldn’t happen to better people,” Nagel said. “They are real racing people. This is a racing family, good-hearted, real people. Not Hollywood, not sexy, what they do is good and they’re good at what they do. He’s just a regular dude. I still remember Dale and the family at Saratoga.”
Jeff Cundiff, Romans’ neighbor, sat at the kitchen counter swirling red wine in a glass, and recalled earlier in the night when Hennegan showed both him and Romans video from right after the Derby.
Winning trainer Graham Motion bumped into Romans in the tunnel and was disoriented. He’d just won the Derby with Animal Kingdom, had tears in his eyes, had no idea where he was.
“Come this way, come this way,” Romans told Motion. Romans pointed out to the track, out to that sliver of earth that Animal Kingdom conquered. “Now, go get your horse.”
Cundiff said, “In my mind that’s called humility, it all boils down to humility. He’s all about taking care of other people. ‘Go get your horse.’ That is awesome.”
Sassy Image - 2011 Humana Distaff
Roaring from well off the pace, Jerry Romans’ Sassy Image came down the center of the Churchill Downs strip to win the $345,600 Humana Distaff Stakes (gr. I) (VIDEO) going away by three lengths over 3-5 favorite Hilda's Passion May 7.
Sassy Image, the 16-1 rank outsider in the seven horse field, covered the seven furlongs in a crisp 1:20.01 to win for the fourth time in five starts on Churchill's main track.
Hilda’s Passion, winner of back-to-back graded stakes at Gulfstream, grabbed the early lead and carved out solid splits of :22.68 and :44.68 over a fast track that is slightly damp from a few light showers earlier in the day. Hilda’s Passion, ridden by Javier Castellano, was tracked by Tidal Pool and Twelve Twenty Two. On the turn, Twelve Twenty Too beat a hasty retreat leaving the other two to battle at the head of the lane.
Sassy Image, with Robby Albarado aboard, rallied while six wide on the turn and caught the leaders leaving the eight pole after six furlongs in a quick 1:08.54. She cruised home for the grade I victory.
"It was a great setup," Albarado said. "We had enough pace up front of us to give her some room to clear them turning for home. Running from the outside, she just did all the work."
Romans’ brother, Dale, trains the winning 4-year-old filly.
"She loves it here; she loves Churchill," Dale Romans said. "She just loves the surface. Robby rode her perfect. The race was quick enough up front that it set up just right for us. When he took her off the turn, she just exploded."
Winner of the Pocahontas (gr. III) and Golden Rod (gr. II) stakes over the strip in November 2009, Sassy Image came into the Humana Distaff off two starts this winter at Gulfstream Park. On Jan. 14 she ran second, beaten a length, in an optional claiming allowance race at a mile and followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the one-mile Sabin Stakes (gr. III).
By Broken Vow , Sassy Image is out of the Hennessy mare Ideal Image. She was bred in Kentucky by J C Davis Farm and was a $42,000 sale at the 2008 Kentucky September yearling sale.
Sassy Image earned $209,986 for her fifth lifetime win in 12 starts to boost her bankroll to $532,355.
The winner paid $34.20, $9.40, and $4.80. Hilda’s Passion paid $2.60 and $20. Amen Hallelujah, who finished three quarters of a length behind the runner-up with John Velazquez aboard, paid $3 to show. The 1-7 exacta paid $100.40.
"We were going fast, yes, but she always does that," said Javier Castellano, rider of Hilda's Passion. "She's just a speed horse who gives you everything she's got the whole way. Today, we didn't win, but she ran good."
Tidal Pool finished fourth and was followed by Shotgun Gulch, Evening Jewel, and Twelve Twenty Two.
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/62936/picture-this-sassy-image-wins-humana-distaff#ixzz1Ls8TPQe6
Little Mike
Little Mike is facing a big mission in today's 25th running of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs .
The 4-year-old gelding figures to receive plenty of attention from the bettors in the $500,000, Grade I race that immediately precedes the 137th Kentucky Derby. That's because he won three of the four graded stakes he ran at Florida's Gulfstream Park this year.
The Florida homebred, owned by Priscilla Vaccarezza, faces a talented, full field of 13 others in the stakes for horses 3 years old and up. And he drew the No. 1 post position — not necessarily a kiss of death in the 11/8-mile Woodford Reserve, but something to consider.
“It's not the post position we would have preferred to have,” said Dale Romans, who took over as trainer of Little Mike in January. “It's going to be a tough race. … We hadn't expected it to come up like this when we put it in our plans.”
While No. 1 is dreaded in the 1¼-mile Derby because of the potential for getting shoved far back heading down the stretch for the first time, it's not quite the hazard on the turf. Besides, Romans says, Little Mike has something in his favor: speed.
A couple other entrants in the Woodford Reserve have shown they can turn on the jets. They include Get Stormy, an 8-1 shot coming off a front-running victory in the Grade I Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland last month.
“They don't have his kind of speed,” Romans said of his horse, “and they're going to have to pass him to beat him. I don't expect any traffic problems, because I expect him to be on the front end.”
Little Mike was made the 6-1 co-third choice with WinStar Farm's Doubles Partner, a 4-year-old who won twice over the Churchill turf course in past seasons. Joe Bravo will ride Little Mike, who has won 7 of 13 starts and earned $366,000.
A victory by Sullimar Stables' Get Stormy, who drew the No. 7 post, would give the 5-year-old a Kentucky bourbon double after his strong performance in the Maker's Mark.
“He seems to be doing extra well,” trainer Tom Bush said. “He had a minor throat issue, and we tried different sprays and he seemed to respond very well. He's always been generally consistent
Earning the 4-1 favorite's role in the morning line is the 6-year-old Court Vision, a $2.6 million earner who drew the No. 12 post. In his 2011 debut in the Maker's Mark at Keeneland, he was a beaten favorite, finishing fourth to Get Stormy.
Court Vision, scheduled to be ridden by Robby Albarado before he was injured in a spill Wednesday, came up short in the past two Woodford Reserves, finishing third in 2009 and a neck behind General Quarters last year.
Another returnee is Battle of Hastings (fourth last year), who will start just outside Court Vision. The only other millionaire in the field, Battle of Hastings, will be ridden by Joel Rosario, who was aboard when he won the 11/8-mile River City Handicap last November at Churchill.
Not to be overlooked is Prince Will I Am, the Casa Farms 4-year-old who earned some notoriety in last year's Breeders' Cup Marathon when some bumping resulted in his disqualification from second to 10th. It also led to a jockeys' spat near the winner's circle. The 5-1 second choice starting from the No. 5 post will be ridden by John Velazquez, who finished first and third in Gulfstream graded stakes this year.
“He's really coming into his own,” said trainer Michelle Nihei, who will have about 20 horses stabled at Churchill for the spring meet. “I figured if we drew anywhere from four to eight in the post positions, he'd be in good shape.”
Even though the grass course has been inundated by rain the past two weeks, it's in great shape, thanks to an excellent drainage system. Even if showers develop this afternoon, it can take the water unless torrential rains come down. Some were saying Thursday that the course actually was feeling very firm.
The Woodford Reserve, which is limited to 14 starters, was oversubscribed, with three other horses on the also-eligible list. Romans had nominated another local favorite in 2010 Derby starter Paddy O'Prado but did not enter him. Instead, he is targeting the 4-year-old to make his 2011 debut in Pimlico's Dixie Handicap on Preakness Day.
“We thought about this race for him,” Romans said, “but to put him in was not what was best for the horse. It would have been more for us to race him here on a big day.”
Post time for the Woodford Reserve, the 10th race on the Derby Day program, is 4:46 p.m.
Paul Rolfes can be reached at (502) 582-4221.
Shackleford could be the one for Dale Romans
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Shackleford Workout
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Spiral winner Animal Kingdom led a trio of prospective Kentucky Derby starters who worked over a fast track during a chaotic 15 minutes after the renovation break at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Dale Romans Racing Stable Selects Second Stride, Inc.
MARCH 23, 2011 - PROSPECT, KY - Leading thoroughbred race trainer Dale Romans has chosen Second Stride, Inc. to help transition and place 15 thoroughbred race horses currently in his care that are no longer competitive at the race track. Second Stride, Inc. was selected because of their specific knowledge with thoroughbreds off the track, rigorous adoption applicant screening and positive references from the racing industry.
“We had a few people come looking for horses during the years we have had them, but were not sure about the quality of the placement and unsure how to go about further screening and investigation of the leads,” said Laura Hernan, Account Manager, Romans Racing Stable, Inc. “I tried to make calls and do drive by investigations of the potential homes and then would get disappointed the further the interviews went with the candidates.”
Hernan came across Second Stride’s web site and immediately contacted them. Within a matter of days a plan was established with Second Stride, Inc. to get these horses prepared for adoption. The process consists of several elements including getting the horses groomed and polished, the colts will be castrated and then each horse will be photographed and evaluated for placement in the Second Stride program. Second Stride also does a thorough pedigree check to determine what job the horses may be best suited for based on their bloodlines, as well as their physical attributes. Each horse is also handled to determine temperament. All these steps help ensure the best possible adoption match.
The 15 horses will stay under the care of the Romans Racing Stable at their training facility in Goshen, Ky. Romans is the sole owner of the horses, after acquiring most of them from various owners. Romans has paid to keep the riding/training and every day care going on the horses until he could find a situation where he knew they would have the best chance of transitioning to a new job.
Second Stride, Inc. will manage all adoption applications and screenings, advertisement of the horses and the adoption process from start to finish. Second Stride, Inc. has a thorough application process with character, veterinarian and facility checks and verification. In 2010, Second Stride, Inc. was able to place 65 thoroughbreds in quality homes.
“These horse may no longer be competitive at the race track but many of our graduates are winning in eventing, show jumping, dressage or excelling as pleasure horses,” said Kim Smith, president and founder, Second Stride, Inc. “We support the racing industry and we established Second Stride, Inc. to ensure that there was a place for these horses to go and be productive in their post-racing years.”
Second Stride has placed many horses for trainers in the Skylight/Goshen area such as Trainer Tom Drury and Donnie Grego located at the Skylight Training center in Skylight, Ky. Tom Drury of Drury Racing Stables said, “Second Stride has helped me place 100 percent of our off track thoroughbred into quality homes and has been nothing short of a Godsend for my stable. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to do the same.”
Second Stride, Inc. also helps rescue thoroughbreds in need as funding permits and hosts educational booths at community festivals and area horse events. Kim Smith, president and founder, Second Stride, Inc. commented, “We try to educate the community about the usefulness of the thoroughbred horse for many kinds of different riding disciplines. There are many myths about thoroughbred race horses and the racing community. We try to show the general equine community the extreme work ethics and trainability of these horses and the dedication and love the race trainers and owners have for them.”
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Second Stride is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization providing professional rehabilitation, retraining, and placement for retired thoroughbred racehorses in qualified homes so that they may reach their full potential in a productive second career. Second Stride is made up of volunteers who are active in other areas of the racing industry: owners, partnership managers, handicappers, trainers. We are working to improve racing from within, and know from first-hand experience how many people may have the desire to retire a horse safely, but at times find that difficult to do. If you would like to get involved by volunteering or donating to help expand the number of thoroughbreds Second Stride can care for, please go to www.secondstride.org or friend on Facebook at “Second Stride Thoroughbreds”.
Black N Beauty
Black N Beauty Sharp in Gulfstream Victory
Updated: Saturday, January 8, 2011 2:13 PM
Posted: Friday, January 7, 2011 6:08 PM
Zayat Stables’ Black N Beauty probably earned himself a ticket to the $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) with a solid victory in a $51,500 allowance test for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park Jan. 7 ( VIDEO).
Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, the 3-year-old Ontario-bred colt by Devil His Due led throughout in the one-mile test around one turn to win by 2 1/2 lengths. Printing Press rallied from slightly off the pace to finish second, while favored Shadow Warrior finished third.
The fractions were :24.20, :49.91, 1:12.02, and 1:37.48 for the mile. Black N Beauty, a winner in his career debut at Churchill Downs in November as a 2-year-old, paid $7.80 to win.
“He’s one of those horses who goes to fast, seemingly, and then takes off,” Desormeaux told Gulfstream officials after the race. “So, yes, he’s very talented. He goes at a speedy canter. Most horses are fighting to go as fast. His natural cruising speed will drive most horses into the ground—that’s a sign of true talent.”
The Holy Bull Stakes, also at one mile on the dirt, is scheduled for Jan. 30 at the Florida racetrack, and trainer Dale Romans indicated Black N Beauty’s performance Jan. 7 was good enough for the colt to move on to the major stakes.
“We said before the race that if he won and did it the right way, we would go on and bring him back three weeks later in the Holy Bull,” Romans said. “Naturally, we’ll talk to (owner Ahmed) Zayat, but that looks like the way we’ll go.”
Black N Beauty was purchased as a yearling at the 2009 Keeneland September yearling sale for $2,500.
“I wish I could take credit for it, but I had nothing to do with it,” Romans said. “They said he was one of the last in the ring and went with no reserve, and they would have paid a lot more.”
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/60662/black-n-beauty-sharp-in-gulfstream-victory#ixzz1HRKGZ1zB
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