Nadal

Star Graduates Point to Hot Trade at JRHA 

HOKKAIDO, Japan--Things are hotting up in the Northern Horse Park, literally and figuratively. As the mercury nudged 30 degrees on Saturday, the English and Irish in town for the JRHA Select Sale swooned and wilted while the many attendants showing the horses, mostly clad in jackets, went manfully and womanfully about their hot and tiring work without so much as a whimper. Both they and the young horses in their care are well prepared for the two inspection days ahead, despite having only arrived on the sales ground that morning....

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Lord Kanaloa Leads 30-Strong Shadai Roster

Lord Kanaloa (GB) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) leads the Shadai Stallion Station roster for 2021. The sire of recent dual G1 Japan Cup heroine and Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn), he will command ¥15,000,000 (US$143,654/£107,013/€119,227) tops among the 30-member roster next year. Shadai welcomes three new recruits for the upcoming breeding season-GI Arkansas Derby hero Nadal (Blame) (¥4,000,000), G1 Irish 2000 Guineas victor Siskin (First Defence) (¥3,500,000) and G1 Champions Cup winner Le Vent Se Leve (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S) (¥1,500,000). A trio of stallions stand at ¥10,000,000 and...

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Undefeated Nadal to Stand at Shadai in Japan

'TDN Rising Star' Nadal (Blame--Ascending Angel, by Pulpit), whose four wins from as many trips to the races included the faster of two divisions of the GI Arkansas Derby, will enter stud in 2021 at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan, the organization confirmed in a release Wednesday upon the 3-year-old's arrival in the country. Bred in Kentucky by Sierra Farm, Nadal was purchased by Randy Bradshaw, agent, for $65,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale and was successfully resold for $700,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale after breezing an...

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Baffert Leaning Toward Belmont With Charlatan

After giving some thought to passing the race, trainer Bob Baffert said he is leaning toward starting Charlatan (Speightstown) in the GI Belmont S. June 20. Baffert had been considering running Charlatan the GI seven-furlong Woody Stephens S., also June 20, and Nadal (Blame) in the Belmont. But Nadal was injured last week and retired. "I was thinking about running Charlatan in the Woody Stephens and then the Haskell because I had Nadal for the Belmont. Now that has changed," he said. Charlatan is scheduled to breeze Monday morning. Baffert...

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This Side Up: Nadal's Retirement Leaves 'Classics' Clinging to Status

So that's why they had to split the GI Arkansas Derby. One division apiece for Kipling's "twin imposters,"--Triumph and Disaster. Though we've all felt otherwise, from time to time, Lady Luck is as proportionate as she is indiscriminate in her dealings with Thoroughbreds. If Bob Baffert is better placed to absorb the loss of a servant as talented as Nadal (Blame), only a barn of such depth could have achieved the level of Triumph, in the first place, to have meanwhile registered a commensurate sequel of Disaster. It's not the...

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Nadal Retired Due to Condylar Fracture

Unbeaten superstar sophomore and 'TDN Rising Star' Nadal (Blame) exited a breeze Thursday morning with a condylar fracture and has been retired. The Bob Baffert trainee was credited with a four-furlong drill in :48.80 (7/45) (XBTV Video) at his Santa Anita home base before X-rays revealed the injury and he underwent surgery, requiring two screws. "I always say to get my trophies--and I have three Eclipse Awards and one Cartier--you have to get massive scars along the way," co-owner George Bolton told the TDN. "You have to understand days like...

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Taking Stock: Baffert and The Avengers

When the balance of power shifts anywhere, one side or another usually makes a move to regain equilibrium. It's the way of the world, the yin and the yang of natural order. In Avengers, a film based on Stan Lee characters from Marvel Comics, a guy named Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D., acts to save the earth from an outside threat by recruiting a bunch of superheroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor. There's a self-named version of this group in racing now, and they're part of...

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Bob Baffert Joins the Writers on TDN Podcast
Bob Baffert Joins the Writers on TDN Podcast

Fresh off a dominant weekend at Oaklawn Park in which he swept both divisions of the GI Arkansas Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland this week for a wide-ranging video interview. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Baffert talked about plans for his undefeated trio of Charlatan (Speightstown), Nadal (Blame) and Authentic (Into Mischief), why it was important to support California backstretch workers at last week's protest, taking over the training of Maximum Security,...

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TDN Writers' Room for May 6, With Bob Baffert

He might not want to answer the question, but among his 1-2-3 Derby prospects, Nadal, Charlatan and Authentic, who is the best? Bob Baffert joins the writers on the Writers' Room podcast to try to answer that question.

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Can Anyone Beat Baffert? It Seems Unlikely

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley The GI Kentucky Derby is a long way off and a lot can happen between now and Sept. 5, but after what went down Saturday at Oaklawn Park, it looks like the only question left to be answered is which Bob Baffert-trained horse will win the Derby? That's not getting ahead of ourselves or hyperbole. After what happened Saturday in the split divisions of the GI Arkansas Derby, it's stating the obvious. In Nadal (Blame), Charlatan (Speightstown) and Authentic (Into Mischief), he trains...

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Baffert Does It Again; Nadal Aces Second Division of Arkansas Derby

Just about an hour and 15 minutes after his stablemate and fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Charlatan (Speightstown) dazzled in the first division of the GI Arkansas Derby, Nadal (Blame) provided Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with a clean sweep of the split Oaklawn feature. The bay scored a good-looking victory in what was considered the deeper edition of Saturday's Arkansas Derby, securing his spot in the gate for the Sept. 5 Run for the Roses. Anxious in the gate, Nadal was away in good order from post five as GII...

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Brisnet.com Triple Crown Throwdown: Arkansas Derbies

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - Curlin Florida Derby Results - Independence Hall finished fifth. Bankroll: $2275. GI Arkansas Derby (1st Div.) - For the purposes of a contest like this, it's hard to stomach taking $20 profit on our mythical wager,...

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