Havre de Grace

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Fox Hill Farm's reigning Horse of the Year Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) will launch her 2012 campaign in defense of her title in the GIII Azeri S. at Oaklawn Park, owner Rick Porter said Wednesday. She had also been under consideration for the New Orleans Ladies S. the same afternoon. Joyful Victory (Tapit) will represent the stable in that race. "[Trainer] Larry [Jones] and I have mapped out some possible races for the next few months for Havre de Grace," Porter said on his website. "We decided that the best choice for Havre de Grace's first race of the year is the Azeri at Oaklawn Mar. 17." Ramon Dominguez will fly in from New York for the mount. Unraced since her fourth-place effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 5, Havre de Grace has been getting serious in her morning works at her Fair Grounds base, most recently breezing a bullet five furlongs in :59 4/5 Feb. 20.

Royal Academy (Nijinsky--Crimson Saint, by Crimson Satan) has died of old age at Coolmore Australia aged 25. Successful in the 1990 Breeders' Cup Mile during the comeback era of Lester Piggott, the former Vincent O'Brien trainee was also successful in the G1 July Cup and was the sire of the likes of Ali-Royal (Ire), Sleepytime (Ire), Val Royal (Fr), Bullish Luck and Bel Esprit (Aus). "It's very sad," Tom Magnier said. "Royal Academy has been a tremendous servant to Coolmore, wherever he's been based. He spent the last five years of his life here, the last two years in retirement. Particular credit must go to our head stallion man Gerry Ryan, who looked after him with great care and attention. He has been wonderfully prolific, siring more than 160 Stakes winners and his progeny earnings are the equivalent of more than US$120,000,000. He sired major winners over a wide range of distances, at all ages. I suspect, though, that his greatest legacy is the speed he passed on to the best of his Australian descendants--the brilliant Black Caviar is by one of his sons while champion sire-elect Fastnet Rock is out of one of his daughters."

 

Australian supermare Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}) will skip Saturday's G1 Futurity S. at Caulfield and will not make a trip to Dubai for the Mar. 31 G1 Golden Shaheen trainer Peter Moody told the Melbourne Herald Sun Tuesday.

"I have put "Nelly" in the paddock--at a destination that I'm not disclosing as the mare deserves some peace and quiet - for the next couple of weeks," Moody told the paper. "There's nothing wrong with her. To the contrary, she's at the top of her game. But it's all geared around having her at her peak when she flies across to England for the [June 23 G1] Diamond Jubilee S."

Unbeaten in her career, Black Caviar had to work for victory number 19 in last Saturday's G1 Lightning S. 

"While the Futurity, Newmarket, Dubai, William Reid and T.J. Smith S. are now all off the table, I'm looking to give Black Caviar her shot at stretching her winning streak to a perfect 20 in either Adelaide or Brisbane before we head off to England. I haven't made up my mind yet, but she could either run in the Robert Sangster S. (1200m) at Morphettville on April 28 or the Goodwood over the same distance at the same track a fortnight later. The other race in my thinking is the BTC Cup - the race she won last year - at Doomben, which is also on May 12."

MARDI GRAS H., $72,000, FGX, 2-21, 4yo/up, f/m, a1 1/16mT, 1:47, yl.
1--DAISY DEVINE, 119, f, 4, Kafwain--Devil's Dispute, by Devil's Bag. ($5,500 yrl '09 KEESEP). O-James M Miller; B-J Reiley McDonald (KY); T-Andrew McKeever; J-James Graham; $45,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 11-6-1-1, $578,349. *1/2 to Patent Pending (Conquistador Cielo), SW, $142,880.

2--Cherokee Queen, 121, m, 7, Cherokee Run--Virginia Bee, by Virginia Rapids. ($240,000 HRA '11 KEENOV). O-Clark O Brewster. $15,000.
3--Rose Medallion, 112, m, 7, Lear Fan--Royal Remedy, by Royal Academy. O-John Paplaczyk & Edward Mallon. $7,500.

Margins: 2HF, 1 3/4, 5 1/4. Odds: 1.40, 0.80, 9.80.
   Daisy Devine, winner of last year's GII Fair Grounds Oaks over the main track, successfully transitioned to the turf to take the GIII Valley View S. at Keeneland last October before adding a 2 1/4-length victory in the Nov. 26 Pago Hop S. last time out. The bay filly found herself on the lead going into the first turn, but yielded control to Alluring Squall (Bernardini). That longshot set moderate fractions over the yielding turf course as Daisy Devine tracked in second while racing three wide. She moved effortlessly past the pacesetter on the far turn and opened up on the field despite drifting out. Click for the brisnet.com chart or the video replay.