Breeders' Cup

A Breeders' Cup-commissioned evaluation of the catastrophic injury that led to the euthanization of Mongolian Groom (Hightail) in the GI Classic has concluded that the gelding had small, pre-existing stress fractures in both hind cannon bones, and that when the one in his left hind displaced during the race, it created chain-reaction downward force that acted "as a screwdriver" to apply "a huge amount of torque to the bone," causing multiple fractures in that leg. The 25-page report, released Wednesday by the Breeders' Cup and authored by internationally recognized equine orthopedic...

Officials at Breeders' Cup Limited have issued a 25-page evaluation report from Dr. Larry Bramlage on the fatal injury suffered by Mongolian Groom (Hightail) during the final stages of the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. His was the only injury among the 229 horses that raced during the two days of the Breeders' Cup. The entire evaluation as delivered to the Breeders' Cup Board of Directors can be viewed here. In trying to address the issue of why the injury happened, Bramlage stated that Mongolian Groom was "harboring a fine...

Peggy Gdovka was elected to the Board of Directors of Old Friends, the non-profit Thoroughbred Retirement Facility Dec. 4. She will begin her term immediately. Currently the Sr. Director of Corporate Partnerships & Licensing/Merchandising for Breeders' Cup Ltd., she previously served a stint in Keeneland's sales department. "I could not be more pleased for the invitation to sit on the Board of Old Friends," said Gdovka, who grew up in Woodford County. "When I look at the amount of past Breeders' Cup participants and champions that have benefited from Old...

The Breeders' Cup appointed John Keitt as Chief Operating Officer and Rogers Beasley as Chief Strategy Officer. "We are excited to welcome John and Rogers to the Breeders' Cup team," said Drew Fleming. "With decades of experience outside and inside the Thoroughbred industry, John and Rogers bring to our organization extensive knowledge and expertise as well as proven track records of success and innovation. We are confident that they will instantly become indispensable assets to our team as we continue to grow and evolve our long-standing sport." As Chief Operating...

A pair of immaculately bred 2-year-old fillies by the late Deep Impact (Jpn) and produced by two mares of considerable importance in the U.S. broke their maidens about 30 minutes apart at Japan's Niigata Racecourse Sunday, Aug. 11. Sunday Racing Co. Ltd's Catulus Felis (Jpn), the first foal out of 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Stephanie's Kitten (Kitten's Joy), validated 3-10 favoritism to graduate over 1800 meters. Drawn gate 12 in the field of 14, the February foal was off a beat slowly then settled about...

Plans are currently on hold for dual G1 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) after he was scratched from the GI Whitney H. on the day of the race as he spiked a temperature. He returned to Saeed bin Suroor's stable in Newmarket on Tuesday--and while the Breeders' Cup is still on the agenda, where he runs before then is up in the air. "He got back from Saratoga today," said Bin Suroor. "The horse ran a temperature, which was why we had to scratch him from...

In the space of a fortnight, Shadai Stallion Station lost its two flagship stallions, Deep Impact (Jpn) on July 30, and King Kamehameha (Jpn) on Aug.10. The pair won back-to-back runnings of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in 2004 and 2005. A year older than Deep Impact at 18, King Kamehameha had been pensioned earlier this year and his legacy at stud was outlined by Kelsey Riley in Saturday's TDN. Losing two such heavyweights in the same year is doubtless a blow to Shadai but in Japan's stallion table for...

When stablemates Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway) and Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) first met in the June 8 GI Manhattan S. at Belmont, division-leading Bricks and Mortar got the jump while Robert Bruce was stuck in some midstretch traffic, and kicked away to a 1 1/2-length conquest. Saturday, the two will reconvene at Arlington Park for the 37th running of the GI Arlington Million, where Robert Bruce will be defending his title after taking home last year's Million trophy. Klaravich Stables and Bill Lawrence's Bricks and Mortar, four-for-four...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- While holding court with a small gaggle of media Thursday morning trainer Simon Crisford joked that Ostilio (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) handled the ship from England to Saratoga Race Course for the one-mile GI Fourstardave H. Saturday better than he had. Crisford has made the trip to North America many times during his long tour as Godolphin's racing manager, so he knows the drill, but this was Ostilio's first journey across the Atlantic. If things go well, Crisford said he expects the chestnut colt will become...

A total of 43 graded events, 18 at Grade I level including the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 1 and 2, comprise the stakes schedule for the Santa Anita fall meet Sept. 27 through Nov. 3. For the first time, a pair of Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' qualifiers join the traditional opening-day feature, the $200,000 GII Eddie D. S. The $300,000 GI American Pharoah S. for 2-year-old males and its female counterpart, the $300,000 GI Chandelier S., have been moved up to anchor the opening-day program. "We're...

Colonial Downs, in conjunction with the Virginia Racing Commission, announced Monday a comprehensive set of elevated safety and horse welfare procedures and protocols for its upcoming 15-day meeting, running from Aug. 8 through Sept. 7. The protocols will encompass Pre-Race Examinations, Medication, Test Barn Procedures and Race Time Inspections, among many initiatives to be executed for the meet by the Colonial Downs racing department and the VRC. "We are proud of our program of safety protocols and procedures which have been developed for the current meeting," said Allison De Luca,...

As the TDN Rising Star Amalfi Sunrise drew off for an easy six-length success in the GII Sorrento S., I was reminded of a commission I received in the fall of 2015. With the Breeders' Cup bandwagon due to roll into Lexington and Keeneland, WinStar wanted to promote its extensive team of stallions. I was asked to write 250-word summaries for each of them, including three which were scheduled to be added to the roster in 2016. Strangely, those three--Constitution, Commissioner and Daredevil--were respectively responsible for Amalfi Sunrise, Powerfulattraction and...