No winner circle photo Mr. Fisk and his entourage after winning the Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (G1) on May 27. Instead, the son of Arrogate was treated by a veterinary team and taken off the track in a horse ambulance. There were a few forced smiles for the cameras, but no joy, except for the winner.
Mr. Fisk was diagnosed with a condylar fracture, a common, repairable injury that is a blow not only to his owner, Sunny Brook Stables, but also to a cast of characters among The older horse of 2024 is just starting to take an interesting shape.
With no clear leader among the 3-year-olds of 2024, the eyes of a lonely nation have turned to mature thoroughbreds to satisfy their appetites. So far, it has been a tough challenge. The wealth has been widely spread, with no fewer than 21 different horses winning 25 graded races so far under the “3UP RD” category on the graded stakes list compiled by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
We’ll know more after the June 29 Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downswhen either First mission or Skippylongstocking could be the first in the division to win three qualifying races this year. Mr Fisk joins the two-time winners in the Gold Cup points, along with his stablemate, National treasure .
The rest of the roll call is frustrating.
King appeared on track to take the lead after a brilliant race in the Ben Ali Stakes (G3) at Keeneland. But that bounce heard in Baltimore on May 17 was the son of Uncle Mo fascinated by steady improvement Pyrenees in the Pimlico Special Stakes (G3). Both will challenge First Mission and “Skippy” in Foster.
Red Line One promised similar excitement building on his clean sweep to win the New Orleans Classic Stakes (G2) in March. However, his form failed to match his next two starts. followed, causing Steve Asmussen to plug into the stables Disarm for Foster.
Disarm wins the 2023 Matt Winn Stakes at Ellis Park
Crown of Saudi Arabia seemed destined for a good year after entering the Louisiana Stakes (G2) in January, only to have that momentum squandered with losses in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. The good news is that the son of Always dream has returned to training and has recorded three starts since June 14. His return will be determined by First Mission coach Brad Cox.
Three people travel around another world—Mr. Buscador , New gate And Two Rivers Crossing —are in various stages of recovery from their Middle East adventures.
After winning the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) and completing the race in the Dubai World Cup (G1), Newgate has yet to return to work for Bob Baffert. Senor Buscador, winner of the Saudi Cup (G1) and third in the World Cup, is a half-mile breeze at San Luis Rey Downs for Todd Fincher. As for Two Rivers Over, the surprise winner of the Godolphin Mile (G2), he might have been back in the race by now had he not suffered an eye infection that required several weeks of hospitalization at a clinic in South California.
“He is now back at Santa Anita and is doing well,” said Doug O’Neill of Two Rivers Over, a $30,000 claim last year in Ellis Park. “We’re not in any rush with him. I think it might take him a few weeks to get back to work first because of the eye problem.”
The various rankings that perform the thankless task of quantifying the unquantifiable seem to be trying to single out National Treasure as the top old land horse in North America.
He leads by a wide margin in the weekly poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, with Senor Buscador—narrowly beaten by National Treasure in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1)—in second place. In the Global Horse Rankings compiled by Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, National Treasure is the only dirt horse among the top twelve, surrounded by on-field stars such as Romantic warrior, Rebel’s Love Story , Troy City and a group of people working in the land business in Australia and New Zealand.
Then there’s the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, which tend to identify the best performing horse over a period of time and then keep that horse at the top for an extended period of time. strange. In its most recent edition, the Longines list placed National Treasure and Senor Buscador in fourth place with three others, but they are not the top horses on the ground. That would be Laurel River Dubai World Cup winner, at 128, is five pounds ahead of Epsom Derby (G1) winner City of Troy and Dubai Sheema Classic (G1T) winner Rebel’s Romance.
Laurel River wins the Dubai World Cup at Meydan racetrack
Laurel River, a horse bred by Juddmonte Farms, has not raced since the World Cup on March 30. Currently, he is “vacating” in Dubai with horses trained by Bhupat Seemar, and has little to no son’s ability Into mischief will never be seen outside the United Arab Emirates.
“There’s not much they can do out there in 120-degree heat,” said Garrett O’Rourke, who runs Juddmonte’s Kentucky operations. “So he will rest for July and August, then will start again at the start of their racing season at the end of the year.”
Not to argue with the success, but it seems a terrible waste of a remarkable talent to keep the World Cup champion locked up in his desert of luxury, away from the stage. internationally, especially since he has spent time prominently in North America.
Laurel River raced seven times for Baffert and Juddmonte in California between the ages of 2 and 4, with excellent efforts punctuated by layoffs that suggested physical problems were preventing him from fulfilling his destiny. When he finally broke through with a win in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar In September 2022, Laurel River appeared to be on his way to stardom. But then he was a controversial vet when he left the field for the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland, and that was the last time he made headlines—until the World Cup, nearly 18 months later.
Laurel River has a series of 2023 jobs lined up for the Baffert stable, with the hope he can enter the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita ParkInstead, he was sent home to Kentucky, where he was quarantined and then shipped to Seemar in Dubai. After two prep races in early 2024 at Meydan, he won the World Cup by eight and a half lengths at odds of 9-1 in the international circuit.
Laurel River is still a stallion and will turn 7 years old in 2025.
“It’s a shame he didn’t get a chance to show his talent in the Breeders’ Cup,” O’Rourke said. “But there’s something to be said for a four-month season like they had in Dubai. There’s a reason they have a lot of 7-, 8-, 9-year-olds racing there. My guess is that when he comes back he’ll have a similar training schedule to the one that got him to the World Cup this year.”
