Trippi – Leading Sire in North America
Two Gr2 winners for Trippi last weekend
Captain Al – another Stakes Winner
Give Me Five – back to form
Website Links – take a look
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TRIPPI – Leading Sire in North America
Two Gr2 winners; R Heat Lightning and Travelin Man over the weekend at Gulfstream Park saw their SA-based sire Trippi regain his lead on the USA sire list as Leading Sire in North America.
He also remains:
2nd leading sire by number of stakes winners
2nd leading Turf Sire
3rd leading sire in the Northern Hemisphere
The boys at inside racing got it wrong on Monday when they repeatedly referred to him as the 3rd leading sire in North America. There is a big difference between North America and the Northern Hemisphere.
Reports from Gulfstream Park last weekend add up to a lot of important news for the syndicate that owns this superb stallion. We quote extracts from various publications to give you a snap-shot of how the action unfolded.
Gulfstream’s website reports:
“The gamble of moving Gulfstream Park’s marquee event, the $1 million Florida Derby, to a Sunday for the first time this season proved an unequivocal success. Sunday’s attendance of 14,251 was the largest crowd on any day at Gulfstream Park since the new building opened in 2006. The $19.7 million bet on the Florida Derby day card also helped propel the track to a new combined weekend handle record of $33.6 million, shattering the old mark of $26.1 million set in 2010. Saturday’s program featuring the Grade 2 Gulfstream Oaks produced an all-sources handle of more than $13.9 million. Total ontrack handle for the weekend was more than $3.4 million, up from $2.8 million a year ago.”
TRIPPI regains the lead:
Having watched the replays of the two races I am not even going to try and do justice to the reports of Trippi’s two Gr2 winners last weekend. The racing scribes at Blood-Horse and TDN have done such a great job reporting and they do it so succinctly that I will simply borrow some of their words to try and relay to you some of the impact of these two new stakes wins. I think the word effortless is the best way I can describe them. The Blood-Horse report uses phrases like: devoured six rivals, powering home, electric performance, raced four wide, engulfed her rivals, drew off under a hands ride. A perfect tribute to a really superb performance.
Blood-Horse reports on R Heat Lightning’s win:
“There were some distance limitation question marks for R Heat Lightning coming into the $300,000 Gulfstream Oaks (gr. II). The 3-year-old Trippi filly put those doubts to rest with authority April 2 as she turned in a brilliant performance that will likely make her the horse to beat in the May 6 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). The E. Paul Robsham Stable homebred devoured six rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Gulfstream Oaks, powering home to an 8 1/4–length victory under John Velazquez for her second straight dominating win. For R Heat Lightning, it was her third graded-stakes triumph and fourth win overall in her eight-start career.
R Heat Lightning covered the nine furlongs in 1:49.27, less than one-fifth of second off of the time clocked by 4-year-old Awesome Maria in the Rampart. It was an electric performance that will surely send her to Churchill Downs as a major factor in the $1 million Kentucky Oaks. R Heat Lightning was a bit unsettled before entering the Gulfstream Oaks starting gate, but once they began racing she settled nicely behind pacesetter Triune, who took the field of seven around in honest splits of :23.06, :46.32, and 1:10.97 under Paco Lopez. Kindersley and Salary Drive were close to the leader, as was R Heat Lightning, who raced just off of the pace while four-wide. R Heat Lightning engulfed her three rivals approaching the quarter-pole and easily opened up a commanding 2 1/2-length advantage heading into the stretch. She drew off under a hand ride in the final furlong, coasting to the wire an impressive winner.”
Blood – Horse reports on Travelin Man’s win:
“Travelin Man (c, 3, Trippi–West Side Dancer, by Gone West) was large and in charge in the GII Swale S. at Gulfstream Park Sunday. Changing tactics to sit off the early pace, the bay, off at 2-5, strode to the front when they turned for home and pulled away to win by a measure 2 1/2 lengths. Panamanian sensation Indiano (Indian Charlie) was second, with Little Drama (Burning Roma) third. The time for the seven furlongs was 1:21.94. It marked the third homebred graded winner for the Robsham Stable, which also sent out Awesome Maria (Maria’s Mon) to take the GIII Rampart S. and R Heat Lightning (Trippi) to win the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks Saturday. Trainer Todd Pletcher indicated the colt would be stretched out to point for the GIII Derby Trial S. at a mile Apr. 30. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0. O-E Paul Robsham Stables. B-E Paul Robsham Estate. T-Todd Pletcher. “
Thoroughbred Daily News reported that:
“Travelin Man (Trippi), who debuted a super-impressive 7 1/4-length winner at six furlongs over the Gulfstream strip with a gaudy 106 Beyer Speed Figure Jan. 6, With the connections of that speedster opting to stretch out, Travelin Man was bet off the board and obliged by two lengths in the Gr2 Swale Stakes.
Travelin Man took control with ease turning for home and was ridden out to score in hand with no resistance from his foes. “I don’t know that he is limited to sprinting,” said Pletcher. “He’s rateable and can relax. We’ll stretch him out at some point. The [Apr. 30 GIII] Derby Trial S. [at Churchill Downs] might be a race that fits. With the inside post last time, he pretty much had to go, but I think he’s better sitting off the pace. Winning rider John Velazquez added, “Breaking from the outside, we were in perfect position. He was able to sit back and relax and had plenty of kick left for the stretch. He was perfect.” The late E Paul Robsham went to $250,000 to secure his dam West Side Dancer (Gone West) as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2004, she won a race and Travelin Man is her first foal.”
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CAPTAIN AL scores another Graded Stakes winner:
Two horses ‘nominated themselves’ for the Vodacom Durban July last weekend. The Mike de Kock trained Captain’s Wild (CAPTAIN AL) looks to be a progressive sort. He produced a “sustained finish” to win the Gr2 Colorado King Stakes over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday under Anthony Delpech. David Thistelton reports in the Cape Times yesterday that “de Kock hinted the colt would be a possible Champion’s Challenge entry and if he does well there he could head for the July, as the 2200m distance would be ideal judging by the way he won on Saturday.
The winners R187 500 share of the stake added to Mr Black Tom’s 2nd place stake R60 000 in the Gr2 Senor Santa Handicap as well his the earning of other runners last weekend pushed Captain Al’s closer to the top of the general sires log.
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GIVE ME FIVE back to stakes form:
Winning at Gr1 level as a juvenile holds a multitude of perils for all young horses and it takes many of them a very long time to regain anywhere near that level. Some never come close again. Such seemed to be the fate of the Goldkeeper filly, Give me Five. She won her maiden in fine style and followed this up in the Gr1 Allan Robertson 3 weeks later despatching 13 rivals with ease. She has been placed only 3 times in her subsequent 8 starts including a Gr3 but it was in the Gr3 Sycamore Sprint on Saturday where she rewarded trainer Sean Tarry’s perseverance as she came back to her winning ways to give a field of 16 runners a solid drubbing.
Give me Five is by Goldkeeper out of the Jallad mare Dance Celebre. She was bred by our late friends Laurie and Jean Jaffee at Varsfontein Stud and we bought her dam from the Estate at the Cape mare sale in partnership with Veronica Foulkes. She now resides at Normandy and has a strapping colt at foot by Count Dubois and she is in foal Dynasty.
We’d like to share another fantastic link with you about Gary Player who Western Province Owners & Trainers has used as their international promotions officer. Gary is always great value in marketing and it’s superb to have someone like him speak so highly of racing in South Africa. Anyone that saw the Inside Racing promotion on Monday will agree that WPOTA could not have chosen a better ambassador. Well done all.
PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.freemanstallions.co.za
John Freeman
