BILL OPPENHEIM p. 9 HEADLINE For information about TDN, call 732-747-8060. NEWS www.thoroughbreddailynews.com WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008 BARRETTS HAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW DENIS OF CORK TO SKIP REBEL The Barrretts March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds Trainer David Carroll revealed yesterday that Denis of in Training will be held at the Hinds Pavilion in Pomona, Cork (Harlan=s Holiday) will skip Saturday=s GII Rebel S. California, this afternoon. Bidding begins at 2:00 p.m. at Oaklawn Park and will point instead toward the GI local time, but it will be hard to match the numbers put Wood Memorial or the GII Illinois Derby. Both races will up by Barretts March in 2007. While the buyback rate be run Apr. 5. Denis of Cork is rose from 25 to 31 percent last year, the average unbeaten in three lifetime starts soared from $154,419 to $219,773, a gain of 42 per- and is coming off a 2 1/4- cent, and the median rose a whopping 84 percent, from length win in the Feb. 18 GIII $80,000 to $147,500. AThe market sure looks like it Southwest S. AThe horse is do- did last year, for the most part,@ said Gerald McMahon, ing fine,@ Carroll said during a president and general manager of Barretts. AI think the national teleconference Tues- overal numbers look really selective. They are really day. ABut the whole team got strong in places, but it is difficult to get large percent- together and we all feel that the ages of horses sold, just from the competition among horse just needs one more start consignors. That s what it looks like going into our = to the [Kentucky] Derby. We sale.@ An uncertain economic picture also has some think he=s sitting on a good race consignors concerned. AWe need the stock market to and then the race after that, Coady Photography stop being so temperamental,@ said B.C.3. Thorough- he=s just going to explode. We breds= John Brocklebank. AThose are the things that we can't control, but they are a little hard on a horseman's don=t want to run in the Rebel and then come back in nerves." But McMahon is optimistic that Wall Street=s the [GII] Arkansas [Derby] and run our best number in woes will have a minimal effect on the two-year-old the Arkansas and then regress. We just feel he=s one market. AI always tend to think that the upper end of race away from running his career best race and we horse market is probably not influenced a great deal by want that race to be the Kentucky Derby.@ Carroll also that,@ he remarked. ABut, you know, as you work your trains Blackberry Road (Gone West), who was fourth in way down the scale in terms of pricing, there might be Saturday=s GII Louisiana Derby. Carroll reported that an impact; you would think that the depletion of discre- colt will start next in the Illinois Derby. tionary wealth would affect the middle market.@ The Barretts March catalogue is just nine hips smaller than last year. McMahon is less concerned about the slightly smaller offering than he is about the larger number of outs. AAll of us now are suffering from higher numbers of withdrawals than we=re comfortable with,@ he re- marked. ABut what I like to point out is that, in some respects, it=s self-screening. It just makes the job easier for the buyers. The horses that come out, generally, are going through difficulties of one kind or another, and the consignors just decide to wait for the next sale. In terms of gross numbers, we=d sure like to have higher numbers, but that seems to be just another trend in the industry--and hopefully we=ll get them back to sell in our May sale.@ The Barretts May sale is set for May 13. For the complete March catalogue, go to www.barretts.com. Hip Happenings cont. p4 You can also pick up a copy of the TDN today at the Barretts March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training. www.taylormadesales.com TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 3/12/08 • PAGE 2 of 12 TDN Feature Presentation GRADE 2 SAN FELIPE STAKES 13 NEW MAIDEN WINNERS IN 2008, INCLUDING MSW WINNERS AT TRACKS LIKE GULFSTREAM, AQUEDUCT, ETC. STEPHEN GOT EVEN A.P. INDY - IMMERSE $12,500 LIVE FOAL BOB BLACK JACK TAKES TWO Bob Black Jack (Stormy Jack) took advantage of an insanely fast Santa Anita track to set a six-furlong world record of 1:06.2 while winning the Jan. 26 Sun- shine Millions Dash. The colt, who also won the Califor- nia Breeders= Champion S. last December, will try to stretch his speed to 1 1/16 miles in Satur- day=s GII San Felipe S., but trainer James Kasparoff isn=t worried about the stretch-out. AI would think that this horse Benoit can relax,@ Kasparoff said yester- day. AHe=s got a good head on him. He=s very relaxed in the mornings. He=s not been getting rank at all, which is very important.@ vinery.com The trainer admits Bob Black Jack could very well be on the lead in the San Felipe. It=s nice, but in the bigger scheme of things is how AHe=s one of these horses that gets out of the gate good he came back and his development. That=s what good,@ Kasparoff explained. AIt kind of puts you in a was really important in that race.@ position, he breaks so good, you just have to go with Bob Black Jack, who now has earnings of $268,925, him. So I wouldn=t be shocked if we were on the lead. I was a bargain $4,500 BESJAN yearling purchase. would like to see him sit second, get a nice trip right off Kasparoff, his brother Tim, and Jeff Harmon subse- the pace, but I wouldn=t imagine the horse was going to quently bought the colt privately for $25,000. It didn=t be five or six out of it.@ take Kasparoff--who has been training on his own since The Cushion Track has been revamped since the 2000--very long to find promise in his young charge. Sunshine Millions, so Bob Black Jack will also be racing AWhen I first got him into training, I really never on a vastly different Santa Anita track Saturday. thought the horse was a sprinter,@ he said. AThe horse AHe=s worked very, very well on this track,@ Kasparoff reminded me more of a route type. I=d say after a cou- reported. AWe=ve been training on it basically since they ple of breezes, we breezed him in company once, just put it in the Pro-Ride surface. He=s had some real good the way he trained, I had an idea that he was a good works on it for a horse that=s not a real good work horse. He looked like he had some talent, but it looked horse. I don=t think it=s going to be any problem.@ like he had some maturing to do. It=s been a steady Kasparoff isn=t content to rest on Bob Black Jack=s progression since.@ world record. - Jessica Martini AThose things come and go,@ he said. APeople, I guess, will say that they did some things to the track 27 Monmouth St. and maybe that=s why he ran so good. For me, that day, it was just important that he ran well. I saw some- 2nd Floor thing new from him where he was able to be inside and Red Bank, NJ 07701 take a lot of pressure and then in the stretch be able to Fax (732) 747-8955 pull away, which is good for us. The record--those Phone (732) 747-8060 things come and go. I would imagine somewhere along [email protected] the line, someone will run quicker than that. TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 3/12/08 • PAGE 3 of 12 Sunday, Gavea, Brazil DUBAI WORLD CUP GRANDE PREMIO DIANA-G1, R$101,097, Gavea, 3-9, 3yo, f, 2000mT, 1:59.65, sf. Nad Al Sheba 1--s@#RIGHT IDEA (BRZ), 123, f, 3, by Nedawi (GB) Mar. 29, 2008 1st Dam: Fixed Idea (Brz), by Bright Again 2nd Dam: Fancing (Arg), by Bold Forli BETTER TALK NOW READIES FOR DUBAI The 3rd Dam: Faraly (Arg), by Liloy (Fr) nine-year-old Better Talk Now (Talkin Man) worked five O/B-Haras Santa Maria de Araras; T-Roberto furlongs Monday over the Palm Meadows Training Cen- Morgado Neto; J-Bruno Reis; R$43,793. Lifetime Record: 10-2-1-3, R$54,929. *Full to Fort Wilderness ter=s turf course in advance of the G1 Dubai Sheema (Brz), MGSW-Brz. Classic on Dubai World Cup Day Mar. 29. The gelding 2--New Play (Brz), 123, f, 3, Matisse (GB)--Nebel (Brz), completed the work in 1:04 3/5 around the dogs, by Grimaldi (Brz). O-Stud Miguel Lemos; B-Haras which suited trainer Graham Motion just fine. Motion Morumbi; R$13,137. explained that Better Talk Now has learned over the 3--Rubia del Rio (Brz), 123, f, 3, Put It Back--Rupiana years to focus his energy on his races. ACertainly he=s (Brz), by Falcon Jet. O/B-Haras Santa Maria de mellowed as he=s gotten older, but he=s still got the Araras; R$10,137.