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[Hollendorfer Causes Stir As He Nominates Unique Bella To Pacific Classic; Plans Not Solid Yet]

     Hollendorfer Causes Stir As He Nominates Unique Bella To Pacific Classic; Plans Not Solid Yet
      Of the eight names on nomination forms for the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic secured by the Del Mar racing office as of Thursday morning there was one guaranteed to create a stir in fans and horsemen alike.
     That name: Unique Bella, the Eclipse Award-winning 4-year-old filly trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, owned by Don Alberto Stable and earner of more than $1.2 million from nine wins in 12 career starts, most recently a half-length score in the Grade 1 $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes here on July 29.
     "We're nominating and we'll take a look at the other nominations," Hollendorfer said Thursday morning. Asked for a percentage estimate on the possibility of Unique Bella, Hollendorfer said: "Not at this time."
     Read more: https://www.paulickreport.com/news/thoroughbred-racing/hollendorfer-causes-stir-as-he-nominates-unique-bella-to-pacific-classic-plans-not-solid-yet/

   I'm fairly sure that she won't end up running, unless there are a bunch of scratches from the present list of nominations. I love the big grey filly, but IMHO she might have a hard time beating some of the other nominees, like Accelerate, Catalina Cruiser or Pavel.

   I was surprised and not happy to read that Masochistic is back in light training. The eight-year-old was retired last March, and I figured the gelding would be enjoying a well-earned retirement.
   Then I read the article...turns out Masochistic had a different opinion about the whole 'retirement' thing.

     Grade 1 winner Masochistic, the gelding who was at the center of multiple controversies during his five seasons of racing and was retired in March, has returned to light training at Del Mar for a simple reason.
     He can't stand being turned out and, when they tried to make him a trail horse—look out.
     "He's gained a ton of weight. He's like a pony right now," said new trainer Kristin Mulhall, who has cared for Masochistic since his retirement. "When you get on his back, it's a different story. He does not enjoy just being turned out. He does not enjoy being a pet. He did not enjoy not doing anything, basically. He's not going to be a trail horse unless you plan on match racing."
     So with limited options for his post-racing career because of his attitude, owner Will Shamlian and Mulhall sent Masochistic back to the racetrack. First they attempted to make him a stable pony, but he wasn't having that, either.
     "He just wants to go," Mulhall said. "And I've worked with a lot of off-track Thoroughbreds, and I've never experienced one quite like him."
     Read more: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/228960/grade-1-winner-masochistic-back-in-light-training

[Bodemeister Shuttling for the First Time to Argentina]

Bodemeister Shuttling for the First Time to Argentina
WinStar's son of Empire Maker will stand for two seasons at Haras la Pasión.
   WinStar Farm's grade 1 winner and prominent third-crop sire Bodemeister  is shuttling to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time this year as part of a two-year deal with Haras La Pasión, near Solis, west of Buenos Aires.
   The 9-year-old son of Empire Maker has already arrived at Haras La Pasión and has become the first sire of a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner to stand in Argentina.
   Read more: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/228819/bodemeister-shuttling-for-the-first-time-to-argentina

   South American breeding farms have scored some impressive stallions lately. Besides Bodemeister, California Chrome has shuttled to Chile, Spendthrift's Hit It a Bomb has shuttled to Argentina, and Smarty Jones has been quite popular in Uruguay.

   The news we've been dreading just came through, announced on TVG: Triple Crown winner Justify has been retired.
   Frack.   

   All the races on that big card have had their purses boosted, but the $2 million raise for the World Cup will give the winner $7.2 million.
      https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/dubai-world-cup-purse-boosted-to-12-million-35-million-now-up-for-grabs-on-worlds-richest-day-of-racing/
   The total purse for the 2018 Pegasus was $16 million, with $7 million going to the winner. I wonder if Frank is going try upping the money for his prized creation? And has there been any more info about that Saudi race that was going to offer $17 million and run in February?
     https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/227008/proposed-saudi-arabian-race-could-rival-pegasus-purse
    There could be a ridiculous amount of money on the table for three races early in the year. Any horse who could win those three might set a new earnings record...at least, until the next round of record-purse races.   
   

I haven't been able to post on TBC all day, Keep getting a dialogue window telling me the there aren't enough characters in my post...even though there are more than enough.   
I've also noticed that some recent posts are now empty of their text, as though something has deleted them.
Have any members who belong both here and there heard anything?
Thanks.

We're only a few days away from Royal Ascot, which charges out of the gate this coming Tuesday with the G1 Queen Anne. American hopes will be carried on the wonderful withers of our own Queen of the Turf, the classy mare Tepin. I'm also hoping a couple of other fillies, Miss Temple City (G2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes) and Acapulco (King's Stand Stakes) will love Ascot's wide green course.
http://www.drf.com/news/tepin-ready-queen-anne-ascots-opening-day
TVG is carrying the races again this year (9 AM Eastern, 6 AM Pacific), so it looks like I'm going to be greeting the dawn again this year with the Queen. 

[International Ceremony to Honor Wise Dan]

International Ceremony to Honor Wise Dan
  Black Caviar and Treve, the joint top-rated horses in the 2013 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings at 130, are to be recognized as such during the Longines World's Best Racehorse Ceremony at the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races Dec. 6 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
  Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) winner and reigning U.S. Horse of the Year Wise Dan, the third-highest rated horse in the rankings at 129, also will be recognized at the ceremony. It marks the first year in which connections of the three highest-rated horses in the World's Best Racehorse Rankings will be honored at the gala dinner.
  The World's Best Racehorse Rankings are compiled by the World Rankings Supervisory Committee and published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
  Rounding out the top 10 are Novellist (128); Toronado (126); and tied at 125 are Animal Kingdom  , Dawn Approach, Game On Dude, Mucho Macho Man, Olympic Glory, and Orfevre.
    Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/82189/international-ceremony-to-honor-wise-dan#ixzz2lsUGkbY2

[Katie Biear Kaitlyn Biear Kay Biear Catriona Bier]

I'm reposting some information that has been put up on TBC, because the word needs to be spread.
  If you go to the Rescue thread around page 22 (just after the appalling photos of Punxsutawney Phil's bone-baring leg injury), there is a post about a TB named Regal Sal who the last owner had claimed had died "peacefully in a field." Except the horse was later found at the Turlock, CA, auction, likely bound for a kill buyer.
   http://thoroughbredchampions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=73&start=210
  The person who rescued Regal Sal and a mare named Lou's Suzie Que, Megan, was able to trace 'Sal's history, and it would appear that some woman has presented herself as a person who will find a good home for horses...but the horses soon show up at an auction like Turlock...and there is deliberate lying going on.
  Read Megan's account of what happened to 'Sal on her Facebook page...the comments are coming in and are also interesting:
  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=670270293004755&set=a.345575842140870.84004.326594760705645&type=1&theater
  So, remember these names (aliases) and pass the word:
   Katie Biear
   Kaitlyn Biear
   Kay Biear
   Catriona Bier
And has operated under a host of hunter/jumper training barn names:
   Derby Stride Farms
   Devonshire Farms
   Signature Farms

  American runner Pants On Fire arrived at Narita International Airport east of Tokyo Nov. 15 for his scheduled bid in the $3 million Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-I) at Hanshin Racecourse.
  Pants On Fire would be the first international competitor to race in the 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) event since Tizway   participated in 2009. The 14th renewal of the Japan Cup Dirt is Dec. 1 at Hanshin, west of Osaka.
   Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/82047/pants-on-fire-arrives-for-japan-cup-dirt-bid#ixzz2kqeHFVH5
  I'd love to see an American horse do well in this race, but 1) US runners haven't won since 2003, and 2) POF is hardly the best US middle-distance dirt horse.

  Australia's greatest race is coming up, and TVG is finally showing the race again...times are 8 PM PST/11 PM EST Monday evening, according to the TVG promo.
  Fields for all the races on the Cup card:
   http://www.risa.com.au/FreeFields/Weights.aspx?Key=2013Nov05,VIC,Flemington