WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011 732-747-8060 $ TDN Home Page Click Here PELLEGRINI LURES TWO DOZEN MATZ MAPS OUT PLAN FOR UNION RAGS A field of 24 was drawn yesterday for Saturday=s Given some time off in Wellington, Florida, following G1 Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini at San a narrow defeat in the GI Breeders= Cup Juvenile at Isidro Racetrack in Buenos Aires, and Charles Fipke=s Churchill Downs Nov. 5, Union Rags (Dixie Union) is Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul expected to launch his 2012 campaign at Gulfstream {Ire}), last-out winner of the this winter, GI Breeders= Cup Filly and according to trainer Mare Turf, will leave from Michael Matz the nine hole. She is due to yesterday. AWe got arrive in Argentina late on his back Saturday today. Luis Bouza, who and just walked him represented Fipke at the draw, confirmed that John for about a half Velazquez will have the call. hour,@ said Matz. Perfect Shirl Horsephotos AIt is very good that John AStarting [tomorrow], can came to Argentina to he=s going to be ride her,@ he said. AHe knows her very well. I'm not ridden every day. Union Rags Adam Coglianese worried that she=s never run here, because it is an easy Then, after the first of the year, we=ll take him to Palm track with the 2400 meters around just one turn.@ Meadows to start some serious training.@ Matz Es Richard (Arg) (Espaciado), one of the local indicated the Feb. 26 GI Fountain of Youth S. followed candidates for the Pellegrini and a dual group winner in by the Mar. 31 GI Florida Derby will be on the bay=s 2011, will depart from gate 13, and trainer Julio Penna dance card early in the new year. AHe=s here and we was pleased with the result. AI like that draw,@ Penna don=t have to ship him around,@ said Matz, explaining said. AThe horse is in great shape and I think he will run the colt=s schedule. AIf something happens and we have well.@ Making his first start since annexing the G1 Gran a change of plans where we have to do something Premio Estrellas Classic in June is Star Runner (Arg) different, we=re going to nominate him to just about (Southern Halo). The horse is ok, confirmed trainer A @ everything.@ The Chadds Ford Stable runner captured Ernesto Romero. AHe had a problem in one of his feet his first three starts, including the Aug. 15 GII Sapling and was given some time off. It is true he hasn=t raced in six months, but we believe he will turn in a good S. and Oct. 8 GI Champagne S. A effort on Saturday.@ More on Charles Fipke, p2 Saturday, San Isidro (Buenos Aires), Argentina GRAN PREMIO CARLOS PELLEGRINI-G1, Ar$1,530,000 (US$357,682), 3yo/up, 2400mT SC PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER 1 7 Anakin (Brz) Dancer Man (Brz) Duarte Nahid 2 21 Aristocity (Arg) City West (Arg) Menendez Sosa 3 24 Blues For Me (Arg) Missionary Giannetti Perez 3a 1 Sin Respeto (Chi) Caesarion (Ire) Ortega Gaitan 4 23 Calidoscopio (Arg) Luhuk Falero Cafere 4A 2 Mustang Force (Arg) Sunray Spirit Blanco Martucci 5 5 Candidato Unico (Chi) Election Day (Ire) Betansos Gaitan 5a 4 Dubai Next (Arg) Easing Along Costa Gaitan 6 18 El Seriote (Arg) Missionary Diaz Pellegata 6a 10 Veni Veni K Suave Calvente J Etchchry 7 16 Equal Pomelo (Arg) Equal Stripes (Arg) Hahn Panadero 7a 17 Flying Floo (Uru) Quinze Quilates (Brz) Halier Paez 8 13 Es Richard (Arg) Espaciado (Arg) Villagra Penna 9 19 Expressive Halo (Arg) Halo Sunshine Noriega Brunel 10 3 Inter Milano (Per) Interprete (Arg) Trujillo Suarez 10a 8 Jaguar Star (Per) Jaguar on the Run Herrera Suarez 11 6 Jumbalaya (Arg) Pure Prize Mendez Paez 11a 22 Video Game (Arg) Orpen Domingos Paez 12 14 Lloyd (Arg) Val Royal (Arg) Zacarias Gaitan 13 9 Perfect Shirl Perfect Soul (Ire) Velazquez Attfield 14 20 Sal Grosso (Brz) Our Emblem Cardoso Nahid 14a 15 Veraneio (Brz) Signal Tap Fernandes Petrochnski 15 11 Star Runner (Arg) Southern Halo Mendez Romero 16 12 Val Champ (Arg) Val Royal (Fr) Talaverano Valdivieso P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 12/14/11 • PAGE 2 of 10 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Fipke's Been Doing It His Way... As a world-famous geologist, Charles Fipke reached the pinnacle of his profession--really, how many geologists have books written about them?--by seeing opportunity where others saw nothing. This path-less-traveled approach led him to, among other things, the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories in Canada. Fipke discovered the Fipke, right, at the BC with Bo Derek, Roger Attfield & jockey John Velazquez mine, one of the Horsephotos largest of its kind in the world, in 1991, and still owns a 10% interest in it. As an owner and breeder of Thoroughbreds, Fipke has often embraced the atypical, as well. When he retired his Grade I-winning homebred Perfect Soul (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) to the breeding shed at Darby Dan, Fipke aggressively went out and bought blue-blooded mares to support a horse that, truthfully, probably didn't have a lot of commercial appeal. The result of those purchases has been four Grade I winners: Tale of Ekati (Tale of the Cat), Internallyflawless (Giant's Causeway) and Jersey Town (Speightstown) were all bought in utero, while Perfect Shirl, a daughter of Perfect Soul, became her sire=s first Grade I winner when she upset this year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs. Now, Fipke is again veering from the norm. This Saturday, he and Roger Attfield will send out Perfect Shirl in South America's biggest race, the G1 Gran Premio Carlos Pelligrini at San Isidro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 4-year-old filly is believed to be the first Breeders' Cup winner to make his or her next start in South America, and the only major North American-based runner to make the trip in recent memory. For Fipke, the reason to head south is simple. "She came out of the [Breeders' Fipke & Tale of Ekati Cup] great, and she's Horsephotos ready to run," he said. "It takes a while to bring horses up to racing speed, and sometimes you have to strike while the iron's hot. She's ready--why not race her?" cont. p3 TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 12/14/11 • PAGE 3 of 10 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Charles Fipke cont. Fipke does admit that Argentina was the third choice of late-season international races. He and Attfield originally targeted last weekend's G1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin, but, according to published reports, were unable to complete the necessary bloodwork and paperwork in time. Next they considered the prestigious--and valuable--G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama in Japan, a race worth Horsephotos roughly $4.9 million. "But we found out you needed to have entered two weeks before the Breeders' Cup," said Fipke. "Which seems a little unusual; I'm not sure they really want outsiders racing there for $4.9 million. Anyway, we didn't get in there. But going to Japan or Hong Kong is a long, tough trip. Argentina, on the other hand, is only six or seven hours from Miami, and the horse is near Miami. So the traveling is going to be a lot easier on her. The purse isn't that much--I think it's between $400,000 and $450,000--which still isn't terrible. But it's the most prestigious race in South America." Fipke, who himself plans to travel to take a flight to Argentina Thursday evening from Toronto, will be making his second trip to Carlos Pellegrini. He attended the event as a spectator two years ago, and is excited to be returning with a runner. "And I've heard they're pretty excited, too," said Fipke. "It's not often you would get a Breeders' Cup winner running down there, plus one who's going to take on the boys." Though he's best known for his North American runners--which also include the homebred champion and Queen=s Plate winner Not Bourbon, by Perfect Soul=s full-brother Not Impossible (Ire)-- Fipke has been expanding his international participation for several years. He has raced in South Africa, and has four youngsters in training in Australia Fipke & Perfect Soul Horsephotos with trainer Bart Cummings. "I have a few that bought with Bart as yearlings at New Zealand sales--mostly Zabeel (NZ)'s," he said. "I bought one last year, and three the year before that." Fipke also has four horses in training with John Oxx in Ireland. "I haven't been that successful over there--it's really, really competitive--but hopefully it will work out," he said. www.coolmore.com TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 12/14/11 • PAGE 4 of 10 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Cont. from p3 In North America, meanwhile, Fipke=s trainers include Attfield, Barclay Tagg, Dallas Stewart, Bob Baffert, Kelly Ackerman, Kenny McPeek and Tim McCanna. He also has broodmares in Canada and the U.S. Asked about how many horses he had in total, Fipke quipped, "I always say the more horses you have, the less intelligent you areBand I'm a moron." Fipke said he has reworked his breeding program over the last few years, and takes a hands-on approach when it comes to selecting matings. "You can't believe how much work is involved getting the right mating," he said. "I use a lot of science, and I have help, and we've developed our own methods.