Legends of the Track: American Pharoah's Heartbreak in the Travers, Ambiente Friendly and Los Angeles joint-favourites for Classic glory, Kingsbarns Notches Grade 1 Stakes Win in Stephen Foster!
Sunday Edition - June 30th, 2024 (Edition 132)
Good Morning,
Happy Irish Derby Day!
Today's newsletter is a bit more concise – we're keeping things short and sweet. Wishing you an fantastic day at the races!
Riders up
Steve
Legends of the Track:
American Pharoah's Heartbreak in the Travers
Keen Ice caught Triple Crown champion American Pharoah down the homestretch. Photograph: Bob Mayberger/ZUMA Press/Corbis
American Pharoah was held on the highest pedestal in 2015. Racing and sports fans alike were enamored by him; he had won the first Triple Crown in 37 years, a feat some had thought was no longer possible. He ran like it was all so easy — his stride so effortless, his ears often pricked. It seemed like American Pharoah was almost impossible to beat.
But as the racing season went on and the Travers Stakes approached, an uneasy feeling began to trickle through the horse racing community. Whirlaway had been the only Triple Crown winner to also win the Travers Stakes and that was all the way back in 1941. The race’s home of Saratoga Race Course had been nicknamed “the graveyard of champions” for a good reason — Man o’ War suffered his only career loss in the Sanford, Secretariat was beaten in the Whitney, and Gallant Fox failed in the Travers against Jim Dandy.
Summer Stakes:
Kingsbarns Notches Grade 1 Stakes Win in Stephen Foster.
Kingsbarns draws away from the field in the stretch to an impressive victory in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes. (Matt Wooley/Eclipse Sportswire)
Todd Pletcher's trainee, Kingsbarns, shone brightly in the $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes on June 29 at Churchill Downs. He outpaced fellow graded stakes victors Pyrenees, Skippylongstocking, and First Mission, clinching his first-ever Grade 1 stakes win.
After triumphing in the Grade 2 2023 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby as a 3-year-old, Kingsbarns has stepped up his game now at age 4. Making a return to Churchill Downs following a distant 14th-place finish in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, Kingsbarns showcased a performance suggesting he's a contender to watch in the Classic and other key races for older horses this year.
Full Article
Race of the Day:
Ambiente Friendly and Los Angeles joint-favourites for Classic glory with ground yielding at the Curragh
The Irish derby is Sunday's highlight Credit: Patrick McCann
Nothing can separate Ambiente Friendly and Los Angeles in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (4.05) market, with the pair joint-favourites for Classic glory at the Curragh.
The duo finished second and third in the Betfred Derby behind City Of Troy earlier this month and face off again at the County Kildare track. Ambiente Friendly had been the clear market leader through the week, but the Aidan O'Brien-trained Los Angeles has been popular with punters since declarations were made.
He bids to give O'Brien his fourth Irish Derby success in the last six years, while Ambiente Friendly represents Newmarket trainer James Fanshawe. Two of the last three Irish Derbys have been won by British-trained runners.
Ambiente Friendly will once again be partnered by Robert Havlin, who rode him when a two-and-three-quarter-length runner-up at Epsom.
What am I wagering on?
Check out Charting Horse Value for an in-depth analysis of Race 6 at Emerald Downs.
The PLUS sign "+" after the ABC letter grade is the best horse to bet on based on both the ABC letter grade and the VALUE score. The "s" before the ABC letter grade means this horse is a spot play and is one of the best plays on the entire day for all races and tracks.
Become a free or paid subscriber. If you pay $80, you will also get TWO FREE MONTHS membership to Charting Horse Value website which provides charts for every thoroughbred race in America.
Visit Jeff’s website at chartinghorsevalue.com
What am I listening to?
Graham Cunningham and Fran Berry joined Nick Lightfoot to give their cards on the big one - the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
Finally, the ‘Trivia Question of the Day:
Can you name the British Racecourse which often has the third-highest average attendance of any jumps track in Britain after Aintree and Cheltenham? 🧐
Today’s question is breeze, but the view is absolutely stunning!
To find the answer visit Steve’s Twitter/X page and scroll through the comments