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- Changing Skies, Casablanca Smile headline Monday's Signature Stallion Waya
- Haynesfield arrives for Whitney
- International jockeys to compete for Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse (UK)
To be more precise, McGaughey trains the 2010 Chilean Derby winner Casablanca Smile, who will compete in Monday's $70,000 Signature Stallion Waya at Saratoga Race Course as the 2-1 second choice on the morning line.
Casablanca Smile made 12 starts in
"A client of mine bought her and sent her to me, and she's been great since she arrived," said McGaughey. "She went through quarantine and was with us in
Casablanca Smile has raced once in the United States, dead-heating for third in the 1 1/8th-mile, Grade 3 All Along at Colonial Downs June 19, with the top two finishers of the race – Shared Account and Dynaslew – returning to finish second and fourth, respectively, in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga July 31.
McGaughey has good reason to believe Casablanca Smile will appreciate the Signature Stallion Waya's 1 ½-mile distance as her Chilean Derby victory came over the comparable metric distance of 2,400 meters.
"She's a true mile-and-a-half horse, and we hope to see that on Monday," said McGaughey.
In addition to Casablanca Smile, the Waya has attracted seven other fillies and mares. Heading the field is 9-5 morning-line favorite Changing Skies, who exits a runner-up finish behind Lady Shakespeare in the Grade 2 New York Stakes at
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Changing Skies will carry Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux from post 5 in Monday's Waya.
Mott will also saddle Gold d'Oro, an allowance winner at
The Gaillimh Girl, morning-line third choice at 5-1, will make her second start for trainer Seth Benzel following a fifth place finish in the John Rooney Memorial at
Completing the field are Liberally, still looking for her first win in the U.S., Rcaundry, exiting a disappointing 10th place finish in the Robert Dick Memorial Handicap at Delaware on July 17, Million Seller, most recently sixth in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap, and Ballynoe, seventh in a turf allowance at Arlington Park on July 2. Katara may run if the race is moved to the main track.
The field for the $70,000 Signature Stallion Waya
| PP | Horse | | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | Odds | |
| 1 | Liberally (IRE) | | R Maragh | 118 | T Albertrani | 12-1 | |
| 2 | Rcuandry (KY) | | R A Dominguez | 116 | H G Motion | 10-1 | |
| 3 | Gold d'Oro (KY) | | G K Gomez | 116 | W I Mott | 8-1 | |
| 4 | | | J R Leparoux | 123 | C R McGaughey III | 2-1 | |
| 5 | Changing Skies (IRE) | | K J Desormeaux | 123 | W I Mott | 9-5 | |
| 6 | Million Seller (KY) | | J Rose | 116 | H G Motion | 20-1 | |
| 7 | Ballynoe (KY) | | M Mena | 118 | T F Proctor | 12-1 | |
| 8 | The Gaillimh Girl (IRE) | | J R Velazquez | 116 | | 5-1 | |
| AE9 | Katara (KY) (MTO) | | A Garcia | 116 | M R Matz | 6-1 | |
* * *
Haynesfield arrived from
The 4-year-old Speightstown colt has been preparing for the 1 1/8th mile race at
"I had him as a 2-year-old, and saw him several times last year; he has really changed," said assistant Scott Blasi of Haynesfield, who is owned by Turtle Bird Stable. "He's filled out and gotten bigger. Now, he's all grown up."
Haynesfield carries a four-race win streak into the Whitney, in which he is 12-1 on the morning line. Having closed out his 3-year-old campaign with wins in the Empire Classic and the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap, the New York-bred returned from a nearly seven-month layoff to defeat Giant Moon in an optional claimer on June 13, and then posted a 2 ¾ length victory over Convocation and I Want Revenge in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at Belmont on July 3 in which he earned a Beyer speed figure of 104.
Overall, he is 8-1-1 from 11 lifetime starts.
"Coming off a race like he ran in the Suburban, now is the time to try him in a Grade 1," said Blasi.
* * *
A dozen of the world's premier jockeys compete Saturday at Ascot Racecourse in the 11th annual Shergar Cup riding contest.
Comprised of four teams –
Richard Hughes, twice winner of the Shergar Cup Silver Saddle and fresh from his record-breaking exploits at Glorious Goodwood, is accompanied by Pat Smullen and Fran
King George-winning jockey Olivier Peslier captains the European hopes and will have Belgian Christophe Soumillon and Italian Umberto Rispoli on his side.
The jockeys for the fourth and final team, the Rest Of The World, are
At stake for the winning team is the magnificent Shergar Cup, which depicts the mighty 1981 Epsom Derby and King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner. It was graciously provided by His Highness The Aga Khan, who owned Shergar.
Points will be awarded to the first five horses to finish in each of the six Shergar Cup races on the following basis: 15, 10, 7, 5, 3. If there is a scratch, 4 points will be awarded both to the team and jockey missing out on the ride.
The team with the most points after the six
The jockey amassing the most individual points will take home the "Silver Saddle" trophy. David Flores (USA), Richard Hughes (IRE), Kieren Fallon (IRE), Weichong Marwing (SAf), Ryan Moore (GB), Hugh Bowman (AUS), Gerald Mosse (FR) and Richard Hughes for a second time in 2009 are past winners of the Silver Saddle.
Elsewhere Saturday in British racing, Godolphin Stable looks set to enjoy a fruitful 30 minutes, holding leading chances in the feature events at Haydock and
Rio De La Plata has a leading chance in the Group 3 Rose of Lancaster Stakes at
He disappointed on his return from a 419-day layoff at Haydock last September, while two subsequent runs in this country and another outing in
However, trainer Saeed bin Suroor's perseverance paid off when the Rahy gelding landed a
Godolphin's White Moonstone is favored in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at
The Dynaformer filly won a decent
UK Racing is simulcast every Wednesday through Saturday morning during the
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