Trainer Graham Motion is preparing for what could be an exciting autumn for the 52-year-old Classic-winning conditioner. One of the most respected trainers in the game, the native of Cambridge, England, has been training some of his top turf stars of all ages for graded stakes throughout the country, including Grade I winners Miss Temple City (Temple City) and Ring Weekend (Tapit), as well as some promising new additions.
“You want to be around in the fall for these big races,” said Motion, who bases the bulk of his stable at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, while currently having a string at Saratoga. “We hope we can be there with some of our horses. We'll regroup at Fair Hill and then we'll go to Keeneland. We plan to hit the Del Mar meet after that with a string of our horses and then take those to Santa Anita. I like being out there. It's a great turf course for the winter and the racing fits our program.”
In the meantime, the winner of 130 graded stakes–23 at the Grade/Group I level–will be seeking improved performances from some of his stable stars, including both aforementioned Grade I winners.
“Everything is a little bit up in the air to be honest with the better horses coming off subpar races, but I'm hoping to figure out which direction to go with them,” Motion explained. “Three of my fillies didn't run well, being Faufiler (Galileo), Real Smart (Smart Strike) and Miss Temple City, with two of those having run big races prior to that.
“Real Smart was coming off a really nice win in the [GIII] Robert Dick [Memorial] at Delaware and then didn't settle in the [GIII] Waya [at Saratoga],” he continued. “Faufiler won the [GIII] Modesty [Handicap at Arlington] and was fifth in the [GI] Beverly D. I'm likely going to run those two in the [GII] Canadian S. at Woodbine. I hate to run them against one another, but the race suits both.”
The queen of the Motion barn is arguably Miss Temple City. Owned by The Club Racing LLC, Needle In A Haystack and Sagamore Farm, the daughter of Temple City kicked off 2016 with a worship-worthy performance, defying her 6-1 odds and defeating top male milers Tourist (Tiznow) and Heart to Heart (English Channel) in the GI Makers 46 Mile at Keeneland on Apr. 15.
Since said Tax Day payout, returns have not gone to plan. A firm turf-preferring type, she caught a bog at Royal Ascot when finishing fourth of 14 in the G2 Duke of Cambridge S. June 15. She returned to the United States for pair of Saratoga starts, including drawing the shortest straw in a four-horse photo-finish in the GI Diana on July 23, losing by a neck. Last out, she chased a rabbit-incited torrid pace and faltered to fifth, beaten just less than three lengths in the GII Ballston Spa.
Previous to her 4-year-old season, the good-looking dark bay filly showed immense talent as a sophomore. In seven 2015 starts, she was a stakes winner, lost the GI Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup by a diminishing head and was fourth–beaten a mere two lengths–at Royal Ascot in the prestigious G1 Coronation S.s behind Classic-winning three-time Group 1 winner Ervedya (Siyouni). Second that day was subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Found (Galileo).
“They went three quarters in 1:09 and she chased the rabbit in the Ballston Spa. It was just a nightmare,” Motion reflected. “She was keen early on and we went after the rabbit too early. I feel bad for her as she is a much better filly than what we've seen in her past couple races and it has been frustrating. She's one of the best fillies I've ever trained and hasn't hit the board in her last three races. Before then she had never been worse than fourth and I would like–for her–to show how much better than that she is. There's a good shot that we'll point to the [GI] Rodeo Drive with her.”
The Rodeo Drive, a $300,000 Breeders' Cup Win & You're In event at Santa Anita, is a course-and-distance prep for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Winner of the 2010 Filly & Mare Turf with Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect), Motion annexed last year's Rodeo Drive with Photo Call (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
Also gearing up for fall stakes from the Motion shedrow are recent stakes winners Messi (New Approach) and Can'thelpbelieving (Duke of Marmalade), who landed the GII Sky Classic S. at Woodbine and GIII Cliffhanger at Monmouth, respectively, on Aug. 21. While the latter has yet to have a race goal established, Messi will likely return to Canada to stretch out in the 12-furlong GI Northern Dancer Sept. 17 against the likes of The Pizza Man (English Channel) and Danish Dynaformer (Dynaformer). The aforementioned Canadian S. is on the same card.
“It makes sense to go up to Canada again with Messi,” Motion said. “He's a horse I've always held in high regard and he's settled better this year. It's always a question when you run in a Grade I, but we'll step up with him and see where he fits.”
If Miss Temple City is the unofficial queen of the barn, the king must be St. Elias Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds' Ring Weekend, who returned with a gritty victory in Sunday's GII Bernard Baruch S. A six-time winner with graded stakes victories on both dirt (2014 GII Tampa Bay Derby) and turf, the son of Tapit was rebounding from a surprisingly flat last of six, beaten 4½ lengths, in the GI Fourstardave at Saratoga Aug. 20.
“He's kind of a special case,” Motion said of Ring Weekend. “He's been lightly raced and he had a nasty abscess most of last year and missed a lot of time. It seems like we got him on track, but he was keen [in the Fourstardave] after he hadn't run for a while. I think he's a really top horse.”
Motion mentioned that the GI Breeders' Cup Mile is the likely goal for the chestnut gelding, who already owns a Grade I victory at the course and distance, having taken the 2015 GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile three starts back.
“I also have a nice 2-year-old filly named Safe With Me (Discreetly Mine), who won a maiden here at Saratoga,” he continued.
Safe With Me returned to be seventh in the Sept. 3 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies.
“I also have a nice Scat Daddy colt named Soglio for Flaxman [Holdings] that I really like, as well as a turf sprinter I just got for Al Shaqab [Racing] named Sallal (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}),” Motion said. “He won an allowance at Laurel and will make his second start in this country in the [Sept. 27] Laurel Dash.”
The three-time Breeders' Cup winner and five-time runner-up on racing's biggest weekend could have a very exciting fall on his hands if all goes well. Never one to let recent defeats stifle his stride toward future victories, the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup-conquering conditioner and winner of more than 2,100 races keeps it all–in typical style–in the moment and in perspective.
“The good thing is we have talented horses and many are improving,” he concluded. “I think we're going to be very competitive in these races.”
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