Fate Accompli in the Blue Grass Danza Dynamic In
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SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2014 732-747-8060 $ TDN Home Page Click Here FATE ACCOMPLI IN THE BLUE GRASS SYDNEY TAKES CENTER STAGE California invader Dance With Fate (Two Step Salsa) There was plenty of buzz leading up to Saturday=s rallied from the back of the pack inaugural staging of The Championships, however, and charged past pacesetting come race day, the predominant theme was the Pablo Del Monte (Giant=s weather. After a week of persistent rain, Royal Causeway) to surge clear to take Randwick=s marquee races were guaranteed to be Saturday=s GI Toyota Blue Grass contested over soft going. And, much to the chagrin of S. at Keeneland by 1 3/4 organizers and patrons alike, the weather gods did not lengths. Medal Count let up on the big day itself. As the elegantly clad crowd (Dynaformer) was second and filed into the racecourse early, a steady rain fell and the Pablo del Monte was third. winds picked up considerably. However, race goers Asked if Dance With Fate would Dance With Fate appeared largely unfazed, and a solid crowd of take up his chance in the Coady Photography 24,959 braved the elements to attend the first GI Kentucky Derby, winning championship day. trainer Peter Eurton admitted, AI just don=t know. It=s "The crowd and support of Sydney for the day has three weeks and kind of quick back. I know he loves given us great confidence that we would have got near synthetic better, [likes] turf. I just don=t know if he likes 35,000 in good weather," said Australian Turf Club dirt. I know I=m going to hear it from everybody, CEO, Darren Pearce. "There's been a great buzz among though.@ Jockey Corey Nakatani is hoping he gets the people through all the marquees and public areas and chance to find out how his mount likes dirt. AI don=t they have supported us in great numbers. We are have any doubt he can do [the 1 1/4-mile distance],@ hoping for a better day of weather next week for Day Nakatani said. AIt=s just a matter of whether he=ll handle Two in what is certain to be another sensational day's the Churchill Downs surface at this point. He=s done racing and socializing in the first steps to building this things right. He seems to do well on the grass, and at great event." Churchill, I=ve won the [Kentucky] Oaks on a filly that And despite the challenging weather and conditions, won on the grass [Pike Place Dacer in 1996], so betting handle was up over one year ago. hopefully we=ll get Dance With Fate there after this "Punters also enthusiastically supported The race.@ Cont. p5 Championships with Tabcorp reporting that NSW TAB turnover on the tote and fixed odds was up 13% DANZA DYNAMIC IN ARKANSAS compared to the same races last year,@ said CEO of The Eclipse Thoroughbred=s Danza (Street Boss), making Championships, Ian Mackay. Cont. p11 just his fourth lifetime start and dismissed at 41-1, came bounding home a much-the-best 4 3/4-winner of Saturday=s GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Favored Bayern (Offlee Wild) took charge in the early going as Danza, breaking from the rail, settled in his wake. Pressed by longshot Thundergram (Graeme Danza Hall), the favorite set Coady Photography fractions of :23.72 and :47.71. Niggled at to keep pace with the leaders leaving the backstretch, Danza surged through an opening along the rail to come into the straight on top. He drifted out slightly in the final furlong, but was straightened by jockey Joe Bravo and he powered clear. Ride on Curlin (Curlin), six wide into the stretch, closed for second and Bayern was third. Cont. p3 IN THIS ISSUE CO-PUBLISHERS President: Barry Weisbord [email protected] @barryweisbord Vice President: Sue Finley [email protected] @suefinley BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Beauty Gets Her Grade I Director of Business Development: Gary King [email protected] Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper) earns her first Grade I victory in GI Madison S. at Keeneland, leading home a one-two for her EDITORIAL sire. [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Jessica Martini Judy the Beauty Managing Editor: Alan Carasso Coady Photography Racing Editor: Steve Sherack Racing Analyst/Social Media Director: Brian DiDonato Page 6 Associate Editor: Justina Severni Assistant Editor: Christie DeBernardis Hard Not to Like Ontario-breds Assistant Editor: Heather Likins Assistant Editor: Michael Illiano Hard Not to Like (Hard Spun) becomes the third Ontario-bred graded stakes winner on the Keeneland ADVERTISING card Saturday with her upset victory in the GI Jenny [email protected] Wiley S. Director of Advertising: Alycia Borer Art Director: Lia Kusch Sr. Ad Coordinator/Dir. of Distribution: Sarah K. Andrew Advertising Designer: Amanda Crelin Hard Not to Like Advertising Assistant: Amanda Foster Coady Photography Page 7 CUSTOMER SERVICE [email protected] Sacred Falls on Top Down Under Director of Customer Service: Vicki Forbes Sacred Falls (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) takes the G1 Doncaster Mile on a big day of racing in Australia. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Page 11 Director of IT: Robert Williams [email protected] We’ve Got Letters Database Admin./Programming Specialist: Gregg Casillo [email protected] Readers respond to Ciaran Dunne’s announcement not to have Wavertree horses gallop out after works at OBS April. WORLDWIDE INFORMATION Page 19 International Editor: Kelsey Riley [email protected] Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing: Sean Cronin Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing: Tom Frary [email protected] EST Race Click for TV 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 • Red Bank, NJ 07701 4:42p Beaumont S.-GII, KEE (Brisnet.com PPs) TVG 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) 5:00p Santa Barbara H.-GII, SA (Brisnet.com PPs) TVG/HRTV www.thoroughbreddailynews.com 7:00p San Simeon S.-GIII, SA (Brisnet.com PPs) TVG/HRTV www.thetdn.com TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 4/13/14 • PAGE 3 of 20 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Danza graduated on debut at Belmont last July and FEATURE PRESENTATION • G1 ARKANSAS DERBY was a close-up third behind Corfu (Malibu Moon) and Wired Bryan (Stormy Atlantic) when patiently ridden in the Aug. 11 GII Saratoga Special. Sidelined by a knee injury after that effort, Danza returned with a third- place effort in a Mar. 1 optional claimer at Gulfstream Park. Danza, a half to graded stakes winner Majestic Harbor (Rockport Harbor), is out of stakes placed Champagne Royale (French Deputy). The 13-year-old mare has a yearling filly by Majestic Warrior and was Danza Dynamic (cont. from p1) bred to Shackleford last spring. (Click here for a TDN AWe were searching for the right race and the right APB on Danza with Eclipse=s Aron Wellman) option and it seemed like the Arkansas Derby was the race for us to step out and take our shot,@ said winning Say What? trainer Todd Pletcher. AWe=re certainly very excited that AI had a good comfortable trip, a nice comfortable we did and very proud of the way the horse ran today. pace and it picked up nice. Approaching the I don=t remember winning a Grade I at 40-1, but it=s not quarter-pole, the winner came up inside of me. I very often that our horses pay those type of mutuels. thought I was going to be able to stay with him and I We narrowed it down between the Blue Grass and the thought my horse was going to give him a little fight, Arkansas Derby and it we thought the race would set but he didn't.@ up a little better there. Also with dirt, that was the tie Gary Stevens, rider of third-place finisher Bayern breaker.@ Jockey Joe Bravo was impressed with the his mount=s race. AThat was a pretty great effort,@ Bravo AThe race didn't work out the way we wanted today. said. AIt was textbook, just textbook. Everything I thought he was pretty wide behind a moderate pace unfolded like a dream. It's really fun to have a special and that made it a very long race for him today. We=ll horse like that and have him run like that. I'm not a see how he comes of it. He goes on to Louisville fortune teller, but hopefully, in a couple of weeks we tomorrow and we=ll see where we go from there.@ can do that again. I'm crossing my fingers he's my Steve Asmussen, trainer of fourth-place finisher Derby horse.@ Tapiture Click here to share this story TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 4/13/14 • PAGE 4 of 20 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Saturday, Oaklawn Park ARKANSAS DERBY-GI, $1,000,000, OPX, 4-12, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49 3/5, ft. 1--s#@DANZA, 118, c, 3, by Street Boss 1st Dam: Champagne Royale (SP), by French Deputy 2nd Dam: All Tanked Up, by Tank's Prospect 3rd Dam: All Week End, by Al Hattab ($105,000 yrl '12 KEESEP). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners; B-Liberation Farm & Brandywine Farm (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher; J-Joe Bravo. $600,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-2, $666,428. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Foaled & Raised by Brandywine Farm (Jim & Pam Robinson) 2--Ride On Curlin, 118, c, 3, Curlin--Magical Ride, by Storm Cat. ($25,000 yrl '12 KEESEP). O-Daniel J Dougherty; B-G Watts Humphrey Jr & Louise Ireland Humphrey Revocable Trust-2 (KY); T-William G Gowan. $200,000. LANE’S END Sales Graduate 3--Bayern, 118, c, 3, Offlee Wild--Alittlebitearly, by Thunder Gulch.