special - Paulick Report

AUGUST 8, 2016
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Think Before You Rake: Racetrack Horsekeeping
May Not Help Respiratory Health
By Natalie Voss
There’s a lot going on in a racing stable to get a person sneezing
— shaking out straw bedding, raking loose dirt aisles, sweeping
dusty feed rooms. Research and commentary presented at the
recent Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit suggested
many traditional components of horsekeeping at the track could
be wreaking havoc on horses’ airways, too.
The summit, hosted by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, featured talks from Dr. Susan Holcombe of Michigan
State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and veteran
owner/breeder Bill Casner.
Longtime horsemen know lung health is crucial to a horse’s
athletic performance, but Holcombe presented some interesting numbers about the prevalence of airway disease and impact
of reduced oxygen flow. Horses have more mitochondria in their
muscle cells than almost any other mammal, and those structures rely on oxygen to help the muscle function. This is why
horses’ athletic performance is limited not by their heart’s ability
to function (as is true for humans) but by their lungs.
A horse’s lung capacity increases almost 30-fold from rest to
racing, moving five liters of air per breath. According to Holcombe, this is why a horse with an inflamed airway can appear
to be breathing well in the stall but will experience reduced
performance during exercise. Current research indicates that
inflammatory airway disease, one cause of poor respiratory
health, may impact as much as 33 percent of the racehorse
population. Allergens, particulates (including dust), and endotoxins are known to cause inflammation and production of mucus
characteristic of IAD.
“When horses (and people) breathe these things in, it will induce
an inflammatory change in the lung,” said Holcombe. “Not only
does it cause inflammation within the lung, that inflammation will
ASK RAY
QUESTION: Can Monmouth Park really penalize
an owner $1,000 for shipping to race at Suffolk
Downs?
ANSWER: Only if their horse returns to Monmouth
Park. Suffolk Downs paid owners $1,000 to ship in, so it’s
like getting $200 to pass “Go” in Monopoly and then using
that $200 for rent after landing on someone’s property.
also diminish the lung’s immune responsiveness. Horses (like
people) are then less able to fight viruses and bacterial infections.”
Where are these floating particles and toxins coming from? Holcombe said they’re in the air inside the barn, where racehorses
spend most of their day. She showed diagrams of three different
barns at an unidentified racetrack where particulate concentration was measured in the air at several points throughout the
day. Results were color-coded, and in some cases, white stalls
(those with very little dust) were across from or even next to amber or red-colored stalls. Amber or red stalls were those whose
dust concentration exceeded Occupational Safety and Health Administration parameters for humans. More mucus was found in
the tracheas of horses in those amber and red stalls than those
in the white stalls.
Continued on Page 5
Page 2
Stallion Spotlight
Frankel and Galileo Shine at Saratoga
By Frank Mitchell
No young stallion has a more electric presence than champion
Frankel, unbeaten in his racing career of 14 races over three
seasons in England. Now the first-crop of racers by Frankel is
raising the pulses of breeders and racing fans with the performances of his fleet sons and daughters, which include nine winners to date and stakes winner Fair Eva among them.
As a result, the presence of a pair of Frankel yearlings at the
famed Saratoga select yearling sale
will guarantee Fasig-Tipton will receive
elevated attention from fans and especially from committed owners looking
to capture an outstanding prospect by
an exciting new sire.
The first session of the Fasig-Tipton select yearling sale at Saratoga includes
Hip 65, a bay daughter of Frankel out
of the multiple graded stakes winner
J’Ray, a broodmare by the high-class
Mr. Prospector son Distant View. Winner of the G2 Canadian Stakes, J’ray
scored three victories at the G3 level,
the Matchmaker Stakes, Bayou Handicap, and My Charmer Handicap.
second session, and is a dark bay colt out of champion 2-year-old
filly She Be Wild (Offlee Wild). In her first season of racing, She Be
Wild won the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and G3 ArlingtonWashington Lassie, and she also was second in the G1 Alcibiades Stakes on her way to an Eclipse Award for her division.
While the second-crop yearlings by Frankel will have a distinctive appeal to buyers, there are two yearlings by Frankel’s
sire Galileo also scheduled to sell at the
Saratoga select sale.
The first of these is Hip 20, a bay colt
who was bred in Ireland out of the War
Front mare Emerald Gold. The dam’s
best effort on the racetrack was a third
in the G1 Del Mar Debutante, and this
colt is her first foal.
Emerald Gold is one of two stakesplaced performers out of the Seeking
the Gold mare Dina Gold, a half-sister
to stakes winner Rileys Monarch. This is
the family of G1 Ashland Stakes winner
Frankel
Willa on the Move (Assert) and Travers
winner Will’s Way (Easy Goer).
An earner of $745,089, J’Ray was among the very best performers sired by Distant View, a handsome and talented son of
Mr. Prospector that Juddmonte bred and raced successfully,
then stood at their farm in Lexington, Ky.
The dam of four foals of racing age, J’Ray has already produced
the stakes winner General Jack (by Giant’s Causeway), who has
earned more than a quarter-million, and two other winners.
The second Frankel yearling is Hip 148, which comes in the sale’s
The second Galileo yearling will come in the second session of
the sale and is Hip 104, a chestnut filly bred in Ireland out of the
Stravinsky mare Mystical Echo. The dam is a full sister to G2
stakes winner Chinese Dragon and stakes-placed Special Interest. Their dam is Fabulous Fairy, a daughter of Alydar and 1,000
Guineas winner Fairy Footsteps (Mill Reef).
Galileo has sired more than 200 stakes winners, and breeders
always give his stock a special and deserved attention. PRS
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Page 3
Honor Roll
Songbird Takes Smooth Strides Toward Greatness
By Scott Jagow
nine starts, no rival has been within 3 1/2 lengths of
Songbird at the finish line. When she steps up to 1 1/4
miles in the Alabama Stakes later this month, she could
prove even more dominant.
“One thing that really stands out is her efficiency of
moving,” McGreevy said. “It’s just amazing how smooth
she is, how she covers the ground.”
The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro also bounces back
from races exceptionally well, said McGreevy. And like
the great ones, surface makes little difference to her.
Songbird has won at four different tracks — East Coast,
West Coast and in between.
2013 Dark Bay Filly, Medaglia d’Oro — Ivanavinalot, by West Acre. Consigned by Hill ’n’ Dale
Sales to the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale,
purchased by Fox Hill Farm for $400,000.
“Who knows how she’ll stack up in history? She’s got a
ways to go yet,” McGreevy said. “But there aren’t many
horses in history that have started out their career the
way she has.” PRS
The great ones all seem to have a certain quality,
says Tom McGreevy, bloodstock agent for Fox Hill
Farm. It’s a confidence you can’t teach, an aura of
calm that’s often noticeable in the stressful sales
environment.
“They know they’re good and they just walk out and say
‘what you got,’ McGreevy said. “That ‘want to’ is very
difficult to determine sometimes, but it relates a lot to
their demeanor at the sale and how they handle the
stress.”
Undefeated 3-year-old filly Songbird was a standout
in that respect. When McGreevy saw her at the
2014 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, he knew she was
a yearling he had to take home to Rick Porter’s
farm.
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“Every time I pull her out or happen to be walking by,
she’s the same every time,” said McGreevy. “Just very
comfortable and happy.”
Such a demeanor doesn’t always translate to race
day afternoons, but Songbird has already proven
beyond a shadow of a doubt she has both the will
and the talent of the great ones, too. After running
off by 6 1/2 lengths in her debut at Del Mar last
year, Songbird rattled off three commanding Grade
1 victories to cap off her championship juvenile
season.
She has remained untouchable as a sophomore, most
recently putting away the classy filly Carina Mia by 5
¼ lengths in the Coaching Club American Oaks. In her
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Page 4
Back Ring
Getting to know Darby Dan bloodstock director
Carl McEntee
Carl McEntee, sales and bloodstock director of Darby Dan Farm
in Lexington, Ky., is a native of Dublin, Ireland, and a fifth-generation
horseman. Son of a jockey who later became a trainer, he is one of
three brothers now working in Central Kentucky (Paul is a trainer
based at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington and Mark is manager of Bill Harrigan’s Miacomet Farm in Georgetown); another
brother Phillip (twin brother of Mark) is a trainer based in Newmarket, England, who took over his father’s stable. “I also have a sister
who never went into the horse business but became very wealthy,”
McEntee said. “I probably should have followed her.”
What Pandora stations do you listen to?
My wife (Rachel) is from Eastern Kentucky, so we listen to a lot
of country music. My favorite is
‘60s soul: Wilson Pickett, Lou
Rawls, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
Had you considered becoming a jockey in your younger days?
I rode as an amateur on the flat at 15 and 16 and over jumps as
well. My last race was at 18 over jumps. I’m six-foot-two, so that
pretty much ended that career.
Do you have a favorite movie?
Two. Braveheart and Forrest
Gump.
What do you love most about the game?
The whole draw for me is horse racing. It’s so quintessentially beautiful. The idea of taking a horse, raising and training it to be the best
it can be, and then taking on someone else’s horse. That is it for me.
Are there any changes you would like to see?
The biggest thing I would like to see is true uniformity in drug laws,
consistency throughout the country. I also see states promoting their breeding programs and see Ireland promoting its horse
industry, but I seldom see Kentucky horses being pushed. State
programs produce very good horses and so do other countries,
but the best horses come out of Kentucky and we really need to
do more to promote them.
What was your last concert?
That would have been Miranda
Lambert with my wife.
Shackleford is off to a strong start with six 2-year-old winners
already. Are you surprised?
He’s obviously had very good books of mares, but we are excited
about how well they are coming out early on. I thought he would
be a good late 2-year-old sire, but I am really excited about him
having two TDN Rising Stars. Also, Dialed In has five winners
and a stakes winner. Darby Dan has two freshman sires in
the top 10 nationally, so I think we are doing very well. PRS
I got some inside information that you are quite the karaoke
singer. True?
I have been known to sing karaoke now and then, but I’ve got
three young children and it’s been a long time since I’ve been out
to a karaoke bar.
PRS
About
For advertising inquiries please
call Emily at 859.913.9633
Ray Paulick - Publisher [email protected]
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COPYRIGHT © 2016, BLENHEIM PUBLISHING LLC
Page 5
Continued from Page 1
“We know that when horses inhale dust, we will see changes
in their lung and their lung function within 20 minutes,” she
said. “Not only is that a health issue and maybe a humane
concern for horses, it’s also very important for performance.”
DISTRIBUTED AT SARATOGA SALE GROUNDS
AUG 9 & 13-14
Stall cleaning, feeding, raking, and feeding from haynets were
all associated with higher dust readings in Holcombe’s study.
Haynets are problematic because horses pull mouthfuls of hay
into the stall, flinging dust around their faces as they do so.
Casner believes the design of most racetrack barns — low ceilings with hay and straw above — lends itself to mold growth,
and lots of ammonia, dust, and bits of straw trapped inside.
Muck pits outside the barn also stir up dirt when they’re filled
and emptied each morning.
Casner developed a number of preventative techniques to reduce the risk of airway inflammation or infection. He designed
the training barn at WinStar Farm, which has a high ceiling
with skylights, open-front stalls, giant overhead fans, and
windows to keep air flowing. He also limits bedding to shavings
or wood pellets rather than straw, which tends to be dusty,
especially if it is poor quality. Hay is given in corner feeders on
the ground, minimizing the stirring of particulates, and hay is
often steamed.
Besides dust, Casner said he has struggled with bacteria lurking in stalls.
“The biggest challenge in trying to achieve a clean respiratory
environment is the challenge of years of accumulated pathogens and contaminants in that stall,” said Casner. “When I
was training in the 1970s, I trained at Oaklawn Park and was
assigned the same stalls every year. I had a horse each year
get a terrible case of skin disease out of the same stall. The
symptoms were always exactly the same. After the third horse
got it, I put two and two together and started power-washing
and disinfecting my stalls before we moved in.”
It isn’t typical for racetrackers to power-wash or even scrub
down stalls before moving their horses in at the start of a
meet and certainly not between horses once racing has
started, Casner said. He has started a routine of fogging all
stalls every two weeks to kill bacteria, viruses, and biofilms.
This routine could prove helpful not only to racetrackers, but
also to farm managers. Casner suspects the mild respiratory
infection often seen in weanlings isn’t a normal part of growing
up for young horses but a sign of environmental contamination.
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“That was always my first question when I’d hit the barn in the
YOUsaid
FINGER
TIPSyears
morning — ‘Who’s gotAT
a temp?’”
Casner. “Three
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Page 6
Five to Watch:
A look at some of the sale’s top hips
By Frank Mitchell
Hip 17 Gray colt by Shanghai Bobby x Electric Shock, by
Cure the Blues: Colt from the first crop by champion 2-yearold Shanghai Bobby (by Harlan’s Holiday) and a half-brother to
Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes winner Fish Trappe Road (Trappe Shot).
They are out of the stakes-winning mare Electric Shock, who is
the dam of three other black-type horses and is a half-sister to
three stakes winners.
Hip 27 gray colt by Tapit x Fashion Cat, by Forest Wildcat:
Son of the leading American sire is going to get plenty of attention. Not only is Tapit a world-class draw, but this colt is a
half-brother to G2 Saratoga Special winner Corfu (Malibu Moon)
and to stakes-placed Runway Ready (Mr. Greeley). Their dam
is a winning half-sister to two stakes winners, including multiple
G1 winner Peace Rules (Jules), winner of the Haskell and Blue
Grass Stakes, second in the Travers, and third in the Kentucky
Derby.
Hip 36 chestnut colt by Orb x Fun Crowd, by Easy Goer: This
colt is from the first crop by Kentucky Derby winner Orb (Malibu
Moon) and is out of the major producer Fun Crowd, a daughter
of champion Easy Goer (Alydar). Fun Crowd’s best foal is G1
Dixie Union–Unacloud,
by Unaccounted For
163768-WinStar-FirstYearlings-Half-PRS.indd 1
Coaching Club American Oaks winner Funny Moon, by Orb’s
sire Malibu Moon. Fun Crowd is a half-sister to three stakes
winners, including champion Vanlandingham, winner of the
G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and Washington D.C. International.
Hip 61 dark bay filly by Ghostzapper x Ivanavinalot, by
West Acre: This filly leaps off the page because she is a halfsister to unbeaten champion Songbird (Medaglia d’Oro), who
was sold at this sale two years ago. G2 winner Ivanavinalot is
one of three stakes winners out of the second dam. This filly’s sire is Horse of the Year Ghostzapper (Awesome Again),
winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic and sire of champion
Judy the Beauty and G1 winners Moreno and Better Lucky.
Hip 110 bay colt by Eskendereya x Northern Station, by
Street Cry: Half-brother to G3 winner Barbados (Speightstown) is by the sire of early season star Mor Spirit
(G1 Los Alamitos Futurity), and this colt is out of a young
daughter of major sire Street Cry. Northern Station was
a stakes winner, like her third dam, who is a half-sister to
major producers Ascutney and Words of War (both by
Lord at War). PRS
Awesome Again-Tizso,
by Cee’s Tizzy
A.P. Indy-Take Charge Lady,
by Dehere
8/5/16 5:00 PM