1 of 2 | Forever Young wins Wednesday’s Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse, vaulting to the top of the “Japan Road to the Kentucky Dery leaderboard. Photo by and courtesy of Katsumi Saito
Dec. 15 (UPI) — It’s another big week in Kentucky Derby news, with a legitimate contender popping up in Japan and Saturday’s Los Alamitos Futurity promising to add to the mix as trainer Bob Baffert saddles half the field.
Remington Park also has a competitive field of promising 3-year-olds in Saturday’s Springboard Mile. Oaklawn Park, Turfway Park and Los Alamitos carry on with stakes events for older horses, while Gulfstream Park contributes a turf marathon.
Internationally, 2-year-old turf runners take on Sunday’s Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity in Japan and, in Argentina, the Group 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Internacional is the first Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race of the 2023-24 season with the winner eligible for a spot in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
Let’s go shopping for some winners.
Juvenile
Wednesday’s Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse in Japan turned up what looks to be a really viable Kentucky Derby contender in Forever Young.
The race was the second leg of the “Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby,” and Forever Young, a great-grandson of Sunday Silence through Deep Impact, tops the leaderboard in that series after winning by 7 lengths, going away.
The Real Steel colt remains undefeated after three starts. Perhaps more important, his connections are committed to international competition. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, “the man in the hat,” has won top races around the globe, including Japan’s first two Breeders’ Cup victories.
Yahagi had Continuar set to run in this year’s Kentucky Derby, but scratched him just before the race, saying he wasn’t satisfied with the colt’s fitness. He then said he’d be back, and Wednesday he indicated Forever Young might be his return ticket.
“Of course, the Kentucky Derby is my dream,” he said. “But we will make a decision after talking with the owner. Yes, I will continue to train this horse so that we would not disappoint the expectation of many people, which includes running him in the international circuits.”
Coming up this weekend:
Baffert saddles half the six-colt field entered for Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Los Alamitos Futurity, but the usual feeling of dominance isn’t there — at least on paper.
Wine Me Up, second in the Grade I American Pharoah, comes off an eighth-place disappointment in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Coach Prime and Wynstock both arrive fresh from maiden-breakers.
The non-Bafferts include the Phil D’Amato-trained Stronghold, second in the Grade III Bob Hope at Del Mar in his last start, and two who need to show more in Ace of Clubs and Moonlit Sonata.
Friday’s $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park in Oklahoma drew from across the country.
Doug O’Neill has Raging Torrent, who was fourth in each of his last two starts, the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and the Grade I American Pharoah.
Glengarry comes from Oaklawn Park with an undefeated record — two wins at Prairie Meadows and one at Keeneland.
Otto the Conquerer won his last two starts, both a Churchill Downs.
Brad Cox has shipped two from Louisville. Locals might play a role, too.
State-bred 2-year-olds go at it in Saturday’s $500,000 New York Stallion Series Great White Way Division and Sunday’s $100,000 King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamito,
Looking forward, the British Jockey Club and Ascot Racecourse have agreed to set aside spots in the 2024 Epsom Derby and Epsom Oaks for designated winners of races at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby weekend. It’s a bit of a turnaround, as usually it’s the Louisville track that seeks runners from overseas.
Juvenile Fillies
Saturday’s $500,000 Fifth Avenue Division of the NYSS tops the roster for the young ladies. Also on tap is Friday’s $75,000 Trapeze Stakes at Los Alamitos.
Around the world, around the clock:
Japan
A December extravaganza of 2-year-old racing continues with Sunday’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at Hanshin Racecourse.
The 1-mile turf affair is expected to attract a full field despite the competing attraction of the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at 2,000 meters just 11 days later. Several prospects in the Futurity put undefeated records on the line in what promises to be a test to determine priorities for 2024.
Argentina
Saturday’s Group 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Internacional at Hipodromo de San Isidro near Buenos Aires is heralded as South America’s most prestigious race and drew a strong field of 14. The winner gets an automatic starting position in the $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar.
The 1 1/2-mile Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Internacional is the first Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series race of the 2023-24 season.
In other action:
Gulfstream Park
Ten are in to tackle 2 miles on the turf in Saturday’s $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens Handicap. Last year’s winner and “horse for the course” Value Engineering and McLovin are the morning-line favorites.
There is a 4-year-old gelding in this race named Serifos, who should not be confused with the Grade 1 winner of the same name based in Japan. Another 4-year-old Serifos is unraced in England.
Serifos? It’s a small Greek island that, in legend, once was home to Medusa-slaying Perseus and the Cyclops.
Oaklawn Park
It’s a talented and well-matched seven-horse field for Saturday’s $200,000 Tinsel Stakes at 9 furlongs. Many are on the bubble beween high-level allowance races and stakes events. Strong Quality stays on the dirt after winning an off-the-turf allowance at Churchill Downs in his last start.
Turfway Park
Saturday’s $125,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes, 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather track, has an overflow field with Wolfie’s Dynaghost and Ocean Atlantique the morning-line picks.
News and Notes
Trainers Dale Romans, John Sadler and Shug McGaughey and racing and bloodstock manager Gavin Murphy have joined Horseracing Integrity and Safety Administration’s Horsemen’s Advisory Group.
HISA established that group last year to provide formal feedback on the implementation and evolution of its Racetrack Safety and Anti-Doping and Medication Control regulations.
LYNCHBURG, Va. — — Quinton Cooley rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns, Billy Lucas added 131 yards and a score, and Liberty gained 419 on the ground with four touchdowns in a 38-21 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday.
Liberty (8-2, 5-2 Conference USA) has won eight-plus games for the sixth consecutive season to keep alive hopes of a second straight trip to the conference championship game. The Flames play Sam Houston (8-3, 5-2) on Friday.
Liberty scored 21 straight points to close the first quarter, the last covering 90 yards in just 45 seconds to take a 21-7 lead.
Amarian Williams made two interceptions, including one with 2:03 remaining to seal it. Caden Veltkamp was intercepted three times before finishing 20 of 34 for 262 yards and two touchdowns for Western Kentucky (7-4, 5-2).
Cooley reached 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season. The Flames entered ranked No. 5 nationally in rushing yards/game (249.8). Quarterback Kaidon Salter also carried 11 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. Three other players had at least two rushes for Liberty, which ended with 63 carries.
The Flames, in their season finale at Williams Stadium, avoided dropping multiple conference games at home for the first time since 2005.
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Thanks to a balanced effort from the senior class, the No. 12 Kentucky Volleyball team captured at least a share of an eighth-straight Southeastern Conference championship on Sunday afternoon, downing Arkansas in straight sets (26-24, 25-20, 25-13) on Senior Day inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
The Kentucky seniors have been an integral part of the program since they first stepped on the court, a theme that continued in the match against the Razorbacks as seniors Emma Grome, Megan Wilson, Eleanor Beavin, and Erin Lamb all played key roles in the Cats’ sweep of Arkansas.
Following the match, UK head coach Craig Skinner attributed the team’s success to a staff dedicated to preparation, and a team of athletes who embraced the challenge involved in competing for a championship.
“I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to our staff,” Skinner said. “Our staff was unbelievable this year, Ben (Josephson), and Merideth (Jewell), and Madison (Lilley) did a hell of a job coaching this team and getting them prepared to play against great competition, so that’s the first thing.
“And the second thing, when you recruit athletes to compete for championships they know the expectations and the standards and that’s what they want. We’ve been shooting for the top ever since I’ve gotten here and we don’t wanna go anywhere else.”
Offensively, Grome paced the Kentucky attack to 40 total kills on a .312 hitting clip. Four Wildcats totaled six or more kills, led by sophomore Brooklyn DeLeye who finished with 13. It was Wilson who stole the show Sunday, however, as the senior right side found the floor with 12 kills on a sweltering .500 clip. In her second match back from injury, Lamb added seven kills to the winning cause and Jordyn Dailey totaled six.
Kentucky stifled the Razorbacks at the net as they racked up 8.0 rejections and held Arkansas to .130 hitting. In the third and final set, Arkansas totaled only four kills with three errors as the Cats coasted to the set and match victory. Brooke Bultema led the way with 5.0 blocks, Wilson had 4.0, Dailey finished with 3.0, and Grome and DeLeye each had a pair.
Molly Tuozzo continued to anchor the back line as she totaled 19 digs to lead all players. DeLeye added 11, Grome had 10, and Beavin had seven.
Beavin made her biggest impact from behind the service line, as the senior served up a match-high four aces. Lamb and DeLeye each had two of their own and Grome finished with one.
With the win, Kentucky improves to 19-7 on the season and 13-2 in the SEC. The victory locked up at least a share of the SEC title for the Cats for a program-best eighth-consecutive year.
UK will conclude the regular season on Wednesday as they travel to Columbia, Missouri for a matchup with No. 25 Missouri. If Kentucky leaves Columbia with a victory, they will claim the conference championship outright as Florida and Texas sit a game behind them in the standings. First serve against the Tigers is set for 7:00 pm ET.
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Two months after video showed him shooting a Kentucky judge at point-blank range in his chambers, former Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines has been indicted for murder.
The indictment, announced jointly by state and local prosecutors, charges Stines with shooting and killing Letcher County District Court Judge Kevin Mullins. Stines is scheduled to appear for his arraignment on Monday, Nov. 25.
RELATED STORY | Video shows Kentucky judge try to hide as he’s gunned down in chambers
At a probable cause hearing in October, prosecutors showed a silent video that appeared to show Stines walking into the judge’s chambers with a weapon and firing multiple times at the victim, who frantically tried to escape under his desk.
Stines, who was sheriff at the time of the shooting, resigned on Oct. 1, hours before appearing in court to plead not guilty to murder charges.
RELATED STORY | Kentucky sheriff charged with fatally shooting a judge pleads not guilty in first court appearance
Investigators have not offered any potential motive for the murder. Those who knew Stines and Mullins said the two had worked together for years and were friends.
To date, prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty.
This story was originally published by Lauren Silver at Court TV.
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