Henry Longfellow latest and greatest at the Curragh
Jockey Ryan Moore rides Tuesday (R) to victory over jockey Frankie Dettori on Emily Upton (L) in the Oaks on the first day of the Epsom Derby Festival horse racing event at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Epsom, south of England, on June 3, 2022. Trainer Aidan O'Brien wins record 41st British classic as Tuesday wins Oaks.
Henry Longfellow is now 5-1 for the 2,000 Guineas and 8-1 for the Derby, after making it two from two in super fashion, under Ryan Moore. It was a 16th win in this Group for Aidan O'Brien, who also saddled third-placed, Portland.
A proper gallop was set by Spanish Flame, having Henry off the bridle very briefly. A few strides later, Henry was magical, fending off Islandsinthestream (Decklan McDonough5-1), Portland, and, Spanish Flame.
his good juvenile colts apart is going to be a nice headache for O'Brien and the Coolmore connections to have, with Henry Longfellow now likely to head to Newmarket for the Dewhurst. City Of Troy is set to return to the Curragh next month for the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes.
For many watchers, the horse to take out of the race will be runner-up Islandsinthestream, who was making just his second start for Joseph O'Brien after winning a maiden here in June. He picked up from the back of the field to chase Henry, but, was definitely too green.
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Randomized (Joel Rosario 2-5), cruised to a breakthrough win at an elite level, leading wire to wire, spiking the $600,000 Alabama for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga. The daughter of Nyquist, trained by Chad Brown, went to the lead, and shook off a bid from Defining Purpose, who chased her, easily holding back the closing rally of favourite Wet Paint while rolling home comfortably. Defining Purpose held on for third behind Wet Paint.
Randomized returned after covering 1¼ miles in 2:03.7/10. It was the third from five career starts for Randomized, bred in Kentucky by Cove Springs LLC. Her dam is the Elusive Quality mare French Passport. Klaravich Stables paid $420,000 for her at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where Four Star Sales consigned her. With the $330,000 winner's share of the Alabama purse, her lifetime earnings increased to $465,850.
Bowing to Mother Nature and putting safety first on its list, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has announced cancellation of its planned Sunday racing card. With a rare and sizeable hurricane Hillary, set to sweep into the Southern California area, officials determined it had little choice but to call off the nine-race program.
“For the safety of everyone involved — our horses, our riders and all the workers, staff and fans — we have made the decision to cancel Sunday's races,” DMTC president and COO Josh Rubinstein said Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, the forecast calls for substantial rain and winds that appear to be headed our way. We are hopeful this will only be once, but it is a necessary step we have to take.
This incident will be only the second time in the track's 84-year history it has lost a day of racing to the elements. In 2019, its Thanksgiving Day card was called off ahead of a projected storm. Track officials have indicated that no individual recovery day will be scheduled in light of the loss. Instead, the plan is to arrange to work in many of the planned races on different days.
