SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 WAR OF WILL GETS TDN Q&A: TEO AH KHING ON THE ROYAL ST. LUCIA TURF CLUB By Christie DeBernardis SECOND CHANCE IN China Horse Club Chairman and Founder Teo Ah Khing, an architect by trade, is spearheading a $2.6 billion project on the PENNSYLVANIA DERBY island of St. Lucia called the Pearl of the Caribbean. The centerpiece of this massive project--which will include hotels, cruise ship ports, restaurants and much more--is a racetrack known as the Royal St. Lucia Turf Club that is scheduled to open its doors Dec. 13 with a racecard highlighted by the inaugural Pitons Cup. The $150,000 race, which is the richest in the Caribbean, is modeled after the GI Pegasus World Cup with 12 slots available for purchase for $20,000 a piece. Participants will also be given an unraced 3-year-old to compete in the Helen of the West race on the opening day undercard. Taylor Made Farm and the trio of Todd Pletcher, Sol Kumin and Brad Weisbord have already been announced as slot holders for the initial Pitons Cup. The TDN=s Christie DeBernardis sat down with Teo at the Keeneland September Sale to discuss the details of St. Lucia=s official introduction to Thoroughbred racing. Cont. p6 IN TDN EUROPE TODAY War of Will breezing Sept. 7 at Belmont | Adam Coglianese HOLLAND READY FOR “LUCKY” TATTS IRELAND A year after selling the sale’s top lot, Brendan Holland’s Grove by Joe Bianca Stud is back in action at next week’s Tattersalls Ireland September It was just four months ago that Gary Barber=s War of Will Yearling Sale. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. (War Front), fresh off a satisfying GI Preakness S. success, appeared to be sitting firmly atop the 3-year-old male division. Two poor efforts since have mostly left the three-time graded stakes winner out of that conversation, but with the defection of Maximum Security (New Year=s Day), he still has a golden opportunity to recapture his championship momentum in a six- horse renewal of Saturday=s GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. Starting his sophomore season with convincing scores in the GIII Lecomte S. and GII Risen Star S., the bay lost his action early before finishing ninth at odds-on in the GII Louisiana Derby and was placed seventh after being interfered with by Maximum Security in the GI Kentucky Derby. Riding the rail to victory in Baltimore, he was a non-factor ninth in the GI Belmont S. and tired to finish fifth after setting the pace in the GII Jim Dandy S. when last seen July 27 at Saratoga. Passing on a try at the GI Runhappy Travers S. after that, War of Will has been working up a storm in the past month and closed out preparations for this with a half-mile bullet in :47 2/5 (1/48) Sept. 14 at Belmont. Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Saturday, September 21, 2019 Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Amie Morosco Advertising Assistant/Dir. Of Distribution Rachel McCaffrey Photographer/Photo Editor Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] Social Media Strategist Family Adventure Day returns to Churchill Downs Sunday. Click here for details. | Coady Justina Severni TODAY’S GRADED STAKES Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes EST Race Click for TV [email protected] 8:45a Dubai International Airport World Trophy S.-G3, NEW -------------- TVG 9:20a Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup S.-G3, NEW -------------- TVG Marketing Manager 9:50a Prix Bertrand de Tarragon-G3, LCH -------------- ------ Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen 9:55a Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef S.-G2, NEW -------------- TVG Director of Information Technology 10:15a William Hill Firth of Clyde S.-G3, AYR -------------- TVG Ray Villa 11:00a Prix du Prince d’Orange-G3, LCH -------------- ------ [email protected] 11:15a Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies S.-G3, GOW ------------------ TVG Bookkeeper 3:30p Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup S.-GIII, LRL TJCIS PPs TVG Terry May 4:00p Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash S.-GIII, LRL TJCIS PPs TVG [email protected] 4:34p Gallant Bob S.-GII, PRX TJCIS PPs TVG WORLDWIDE INFORMATION 4:51p Noble Damsel S.-GIII, BEL TJCIS PPs FS2 International Editor 5:14p Cotillion S.-GI, PRX TJCIS PPs NBC Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN 5:48p Pennsylvania Derby-GI, PRX TJCIS PPs NBC [email protected] European Editor 5:57p Kelso H.-GII, BEL TJCIS PPs FS2 Emma Berry 10:15p Charles Town Oaks-GIII, CT TJCIS PPs TVG [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com The $20m richest race in the world now has an undercard on both dirt and turf A 6f dirt sprint A dirt mile for for three-year- three-year-olds olds and up worth worth $800,000 $1,500,000 A staying A 10.5f turf A turf sprint handicap race worth over 6.7f for on turf over $1,000,000 four-year-olds 15f worth and up worth $2,500,000 $1,000,000 February 29th, 2020 How do you grow in Riyadh. grass in the desert? Find out at Free to enter, and all thesaudicup.com expenses paid. COME WITH US ON A JO URNEY TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 14 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 PA Derby cont. from p1 Improbable | Horsephotos AHe is fantastic,@ Mark Casse told the Parx notes team. AHe looks good. He has put on some weight. He has matured. He is sharp. He is ready. Now, it=s just a matter of having some good racing luck. He has done a lot of good things and there is no question he is an extremely talented horse. His last two races have tarnished his reputation a little bit. We=re anxious to regain that.@ In the absence of Maximum Security, favoritism will likely fall to Improbable (City Zip). A perfect three-for-three to start his career, including a top-level success in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity, the >TDN Rising Star= was second in both the GII Rebel S. and GI Arkansas Derby to start his 3-year-old campaign and fourth in the Run for the Roses. Shelved after running an even sixth in the Preakness, he returned with a score in the Shared Belief S. Aug. 25 at Del Mar, earning a career-top and field-best 104 Beyer for the effort. Improbable will look to give trainer Bob Baffert his third consecutive Pennsylvania Derby triumph after West Coast (Flatter) and McKinzie (Street Sense)=s victories in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Allied Racing Stable=s Mr. Money (Goldencents) steps into Grade I company for the first time since running fourth at 41-1 in last year=s GI Sentient Jet Breeders= Cup Juvenile. Off the board in his first two sophomore starts, the bay has caught fire to reel off four consecutive Grade III successes in the Pat Day Mile S., Matt Winn S., Indiana Derby and West Virginia Derby, each time winning by open lengths. AObviously it=s deeper water here,@ trainer Bret Calhoun said. AWe=ve been looking forward to it for a long time. I think developmentally, physically but obviously mentally, he=s learned how to be a complete racehorse. Learning how to settle and relax, that=s the big thing. Of course I=ve said it a hundred times: His confidence level is unbelievable right now. He=s a beast.@ TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 14 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 GUARANA LOOKS TO STRENGTHEN triumphant, holding off subsequent GI Alabama S. runner-up Point of Honor (Curlin) by a length after setting a slow pace. DIVISIONAL GRIP IN DEEP COTILLION Joel Politi=s Serengeti Empress (Alternation) could launch by Joe Bianca herself right back into the title race with a victory. Last year=s Three Chimneys Farm=s undefeated >TDN Rising Star= Guarana 19 1/2-length GII Pocahontas S. scorer annexed the GII Rachel (Ghostzapper) will try to put a Alexandra S. to open her stranglehold on the 3-year-old sophomore account and, after a filly championship hunt as the disastrous run in the GII Fair favorite in a layered 11-horse Grounds Oaks, went all the way renewal of the GI Cotillion S. in a 13-1 upset of the Saturday at Parx. GI Kentucky Oaks. The dark bay Debuting as a 4-5 favorite Apr. was no match for Guarana when 19 at Keeneland, the homebred second in the Acorn, but she ran to the money and then would=ve had to be a super- some, cruising home a 14 3/4- horse to prevail that day after length victress, easily good setting blistering fractions of enough for >Rising Star= honors. :21.89, :43.99 and 1:08.03. She She backed that up with a again set a fast pace in the devastating six-length triumph in GI Longines Test S. Aug. 3 at the GI Acorn S.