Paradise Woods Favored in Oaks
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017 TAPWRIT A 2015 >BEST SELLER= FOR RIGGIO PARADISE WOODS by Steve Sherack FAVORED IN OAKS LOUISVILLE, KY - Books aren't the only thing that Len Riggio has been making headlines selling these days. The Barnes & Noble founder has also accumulated quite the collection of broodmares over the past decade or so and will have his name listed in the program as a breeder at Saturday=s GI Kentucky Derby via GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby hero Tapwrit (Tapit). AI look at it as a privilege to be able to have the means to breed horses that can compete at this level,@ said Riggio, who built his aforementioned Fortune 500 company from just a single college bookstore back in 1965. "For the size of our operation, if we get one Grade I or one very good one a year, we're doing great.@ Cont. p3 Paradise Woods winning the Santa Anita Oaks | Benoit Photo IN TDN EUROPE TODAY SPRINTING 3YOS STEP OUT IN PAVILION Herman Sarkowsky and Mr. & Mrs. Martin Wygod=s >TDN ‘TDN Rising Stars’ Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) and Seven Rising Star= Paradise Woods (Union Rags) drew gate four and Heavens (GB) (Frankel {GB}) face off in Wednesday’s G3 was installed the 5-2 morning-line favorite by Mike Battaglia for Pavilion S. at Ascot. Friday=s running of the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. Downs. Bred by Sarkowsky, the bay filly is one of the least-tried runners in the full field of 14 sophomore fillies, with just three starts, but exits the single most dominating performance along the road to the Oaks, an 11-length defeat of Abel Tasman (Quality Road) when last seen in the GI Santa Anita Oaks Apr. 8. AShe=s come a long way fast and its an obstacle to overcome the crowd with an inexperienced filly, but we=ll give it a shot,@ said trainer Richard Mandella, in search of a first victory in the race. Riding a five-race winning skein is Miss Sky Warrior (First Samurai), the Kelly Breen-trainee who was made the 9-2 second selection and will break from the 10-post. AI don=t know if I could have drawn it up any better,@ Breen said. AIf they let me draw the pills and decide who went where, the 10-post is probably the best spot for us. We were the first one drawn and even if the other speed drew outside of us, we could have dictated it from the 10. It's a perfect position for us. Paco [Lopez] is a great gate rider with a good head on his shoulders. He=ll be able to see what we=re going to have to do.@ Cont. p3 KY DERBY CONTENDER GORMLEY Santa Anita Derby (G1), FrontRunner S. (G1), Sham S. (G3) KY OAKS CONTENDER FARRELL Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), Rachel Alexandra S. (G2), Golden Rod S. (G2), Silverbulletday S. BEST WISHES TO THE CONNECTIONS THIS WEEKEND The Breeders’ Farm A.P. Indy – Macoumba, by Mr. Prospector | $75,000 S&N spendthriftfarm.com | 859.294.0030 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] Wednesday, May 3, 2017 EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Assistant Editors Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Michelle Benson Thundering by. 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Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] 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 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 8 • THETDN.COM WEDNESDAY • MAY 3, 2017 Oaks draw cont. Tapwrit a 2015 >Best Seller= for Riggio cont. The joint third choices at 5-1 are Coffeepot Stables= Farrell (Malibu Moon, post 7), victress of both the GII Rachel Alexandra S. and GII Fair Grounds Oaks, and GI Los Alamitos Starlet S. heroine Abel Tasman (post 13). AI do like the seven,@ trainer Wayne Catalano said of Farrell=s post. AWhen I school her, I have been putting her in the seven, so it came out how we=ve been putting her in there.@ Salty (Quality Road) has been pegged as a 6-1 gamble. Also a veteran of only three races, Salty will have to work out a trip from the 14-hole, though the draw was of minimal concern to trainer Mark Casse. AWell if we got that in the Derby we=d be happy,@ he commented. AIt could have been worse. I don=t think our filly has a lot of speed, so the post could=ve been a little harder on some of the others.@ Sailor=s Valentine (Mizzen Mast), a 22-1 upsetter of the GI Central Bank Ashland Apr. 8 at Keeneland, was given a 30-1 Len Riggio with Samraat | Adam Coglianese chance on the Oaks morning line and drew post eight. Tapwrit, a $1.2-million Fasig-Tipton August yearling purchase AIt=s perfect for her,@ trainer Eddie Kenneally said. AI really like by Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert the post.@ LaPenta, is out of the Successful Appeal mare Appealing Zophie. To see the entire field for the Oaks, please turn to our graded Riggio's My Meadowview Farm went to $1.1 million to acquire stakes entries at the back of the North American section. the 2006 GI Spinaway S. heroine at the following year=s Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 8 • THETDN.COM WEDNESDAY • MAY 3, 2017 AShe's almost been like a factory, producing winner after winner.@ He continued, A[Kern Thoroughbreds President] Lincoln Collins is our manager and Alan Porter helps Lincoln and I in making selections for the matings. You spend all this time being conscientious and you make an informed decision... And then you pray. And if you're lucky, three percent of the time, you're right.@ Riggio's broodmare band also includes: GISWs Funny Moon (Malibu Moon) ($2.3 million >11 FTKNOV); Love Theway Youare (Arch) ($1.45 million >12 FTKNOV); Miss Shop (Deputy Minister), the dam of the promising MGSW Tin Type Gal (Tapit); as well as the multiple stakes-placed half-sister to leading sire Tapit, Overandabeauty (Grand Slam) ($750,000 >06 KEESEP); and the stakes-winning My Meadowview homebred Marion Ravenwood (A. P. Indy). Tapwrit strikes a pose | Sherackatthetrack AWe have a horse farm on Long Island in the Hamptons--that's Tapwrit a 2015 >Best Seller= for Riggio cont. where we have our New York-bred program, which produced AWe probably raced 25 or so like Tapwrit and then we sold Samraat (Noble Causeway),@ Riggio beamed of the 2014 him,@ Riggio, who primarily breeds to race, said with a laugh. GIII Gotham S. hero and GI Wood Memorial S. runner-up. AAnd AThat's just the way it goes.@ that, of course, was a big thrill for us. You just don't see The 76-year-old continued, AHe was the first horse of that championship-caliber horses being born and bred out there.@ value that we ever sold. You never know with these horses. It's The late Noble Causeway (Giant's Causeway), a $1.15-million like catching lightning in a bottle.@ KEESEP yearling purchase in 2003, gave Riggio his first taste of Tapwrit, a very good second behind McCraken (Ghostzapper) competing on the big stage. The 2005 GI Florida Derby in Tampa=s GIII Sam F. Davis S., heads to Louisville for trainer runner-up--unplaced in that term's Kentucky Derby and Todd Pletcher off a fifth-place finish after a slow start in the GI Preakness S. for Nick Zito--went on to sire Samraat, who GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 8. began his career with five straight wins, including a trio of stakes AWe=ll be rooting for him,@ Riggio said. AWe own the mare--I victories. hope he wins everything.@ Trained by Rick Violette, Samraat reported home a respectable Appealing Zophie's 2-year-old colt by Candy Ride (Arg) brought fifth behind two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome $375,000 from John C. Oxley at the recently concluded OBS April (Lucky Pulpit) in the first leg of the Triple Crown. He was a close Sale. Barren for 2017, Appealing Zophie is also represented by a second in last year=s GII Suburban H.