Join now & win money today! Get Started

Holy Bull Is ‘On The Table’ For Juvenile Third Giant Game

---

West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables’ Giant Game, unraced since running third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) last fall for trainer Dale Romans, continues to work toward his 3-year-old debut.

The sophomore son of Giant’s Causeway had a five-furlong move in 59.76 seconds Wednesday morning over Gulfstream’s main track, the fastest of five horses. Giant Game has been breezing steadily at Gulfstream since returning to the work tab Dec. 20, including another bullet five-eighths in 59.85 Jan. 11.

The $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 5 is Gulfstream’s next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) going 1 1/8 miles April 2. In between is the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) March 5, also at 1 1/16 miles.

“I think everything is progressing nicely. I did talk to Dale probably a week ago and he was upbeat,” West Point’s chief operating officer Tom Bellhouse said. “He said everything is going smooth. From what I understand, the Holy Bull is on the table. If he’s training well, I would think he’d go to the Holy Bull.”

Giant Game, who fetched $500,000 as a yearling in September 2020, graduated at second asking in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight last October at Keeneland, earning him a shot at the Breeders’ Cup. Sent off at 21-1, he was in a striking position on the outside in the stretch but wound up 3 ¼ lengths behind front-running favorite Corniche, trailing runner-up Pappacap by a length and a half.

“You have to start somewhere this year. Dale gave him plenty of time,” Bellhouse said. “I thought he ran a monster race in the Breeders’ Cup. With a better trip I think we’re probably second. If you look at the race the horse was really in a perfect spot on the rail, but I know when you feel like you’re loaded you want to take that swing out. But, he ran a huge race and I’m hoping that he comes back and moves forward.”

The post Holy Bull Is ‘On The Table’ For Juvenile Third Giant Game appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

‘Classy-Looking Filly’ Is First Foal For Spendthrift Farm’s Thousand Words

---

Spendthrift Farm‘s Thousand Words, the undefeated Grade 2 winner at two and multiple stakes winner at three by Pioneerof the Nile, sired his first reported foal on Tuesday when a filly was born at Bison Ridge Equine in Bartlesville, Okla.

Bred by Hidden Creek Farm, the chestnut filly is the first foal out of the Laoban mare Laoban Furen, whose dam is the stakes-winning and stakes-producing Malibu Moon mare Hung the Moon. Laoban Furen is a half-sister to Brill, a million-dollar, sale-topping yearling and Santa Anita stakes winner.

“She’s a really nice foal out of a maiden mare that is from a good family. This is a classy-looking filly and very correct,” said Scott Pierce, owner of Hidden Creek Farm.

A million-dollar yearling himself, Thousand Words was an undefeated 2-year-old, breaking his maiden on debut before stretching out around two turns to capture the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity. At three, he won the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita and went on to defeat leading 3-year-old Honor A. P. in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar in a final major prep for the 2020 Kentucky Derby, earning a 104 Beyer.

Thousand Words, who is out of the multiple Grade 2-winning and Grade 1-placed mare Pomeroys Pistol, retired to Spendthrift where he bred 184 mares in his first book in 2021. He is set to stand his second season at stud for a fee of $7,500 S&N.

The post ‘Classy-Looking Filly’ Is First Foal For Spendthrift Farm’s Thousand Words appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy Race for Grace to Be Held May 2

---

The Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy’s 20th annual Race For Grace, a dinner event raising financial support for the chaplaincy, will be held May 2 on Millionaires’ Row in the clubhouse at historic Churchill Downs, five days before the running of the GI Kentucky Derby. Hall of Fame Jockey and Derby winner Pat Day, who has been the President of the Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy the past six years, will be the Master of Ceremonies.

The keynote speaker will be nationally-recognized Pastor Bob Russell. At the age of 22, Bob became the pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. That small congregation of 120 members became one of the largest churches in America, with 18,000 people attending the three worship services every weekend in 2006 when Russell retired.

The event will have a live auction featuring a box for the 2023 Kentucky Derby and Oaks and a silent auction featuring leather halters from 2022 Kentucky Derby participants, horse racing art and memorabilia.

For more information, click here. Race For Grace tickets are limited and sponsorships are welcome. For an invitation to Race For Grace and more information about sponsorships, contact Sharilyn Unthank at sharilyn@kychaplaincy.org or 502-297-3508.

The post Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy Race for Grace to Be Held May 2 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Special Reserve Named HBPA Claiming Horse of the Year

---

Special Reserve (Midshipman) started last season being claimed for $40,000 and ended 2021 as the National HBPA Claiming Horse of the Year. In between, the 5-year-old gelding won two graded stakes and three stakes overall, finished second by a half-length in Saratoga’s GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.and concluded the season with a fourth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“It’s been such a great experience, and he’s such a great horse,” said David Staudacher, who co-owns the Mike Maker-trained Special Reserve with Peter Proscia’s Paradise Farms Corp. “This award means a lot. I’ve been in the business over 40 years, and I had my first stakes win with Mike four or five years ago. I’ve been claiming horses a long time–claimed some good ones, claimed some not-so-good ones. Love the sport, love the people involved. It’s just so much fun.”

Echoed Proscia: “He’s been a great horse to watch. He tries all the time, and Mike did a great job with him. [The award] was a pleasant surprise. This horse has brought us a lot of fun and success. We’re looking forward to his 2022 campaign.”

Each year the National HBPA Industry Awards Committee, chaired by Pennsylvania HBPA Executive Director Todd Mostoller, reviews nominated horses to choose the one most exemplifying the spirit of a National HBPA Claiming Horse of the Year.

The post Special Reserve Named HBPA Claiming Horse of the Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.