Latest news with #TwoEightRacing
Daily Mirror
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
'Rapid' Royal Ascot horse named after baseball's Jayson Werth impresses on debut
Werth set up Two Eight Racing as he wore number 28 during his playing days. He part-owns exciting new Wesley Ward-trained recruit Outfielder with Amo Racing, founded by football agent Kia Joorabchian A 'rapid' horse left his connections dreaming of Royal Ascot glory after a sparkling display on debut in America. Outfielder sprinted clear in a five-furlong maiden special weight event at Churchill Downs with champion rider John Velazquez steering. The six-and-a-quarter length romp on Friday evening saw bookmakers William Hill introduce the colt into the Norfolk Stakes betting at 7-1. His American trainer Wesley Ward has won the race twice, with No Nay Never setting the ball rolling in 2013 and Shang Shang Shang going in five years later. As well as impressing racing fans, the new recruit thrilled his part-owner and former baseball star Jayson Werth who he is named after. The sportsman played as an outfielder for many top teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals in a 15-year Major League Baseball career. Reacting to his thoroughbred's performance, Werth said on X: "That's how we do it. First time out by 7l!" During a three year spell with the Philadelphia Phillies, Werth played a big role in the team's defeat of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series. He called it a day in 2017 and got into racing when he watched the sport on TV after a round of golf. Werth has had runners in the Kentucky Derby including Flying Mohawk when it was last held on May 3. But now his team are setting their sights on Royal Ascot's five-day showpiece of the Flat season. In 2023, Amo Racing were responsible for one of the biggest shocks at the meeting in the race Outfielder could go for, when Valiant Force struck at 150-1. Founded by football agent Kia Joorabchian, who brokered the £142 million move of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona from Liverpool, Amo are one of the leading names in the flat game. And Ward has built a reputation for bringing fast horses over from his base in California, ever since Strike The Tiger landed the Windsor Castle Stakes at 33-1 in 2009. However last year he told the Racing Post that a lot of his owners were finding it costly to send their horses to the event, which runs from June 17-21. "It's very expensive to get them over there and I don't want to be bringing over horses I'm not confident are going to run well," he said. Ward might find it hard to resist a trip over with Outfielder, who was cut to 5-1 for the Norfolk Stakes by the Hills odds compilers on Saturday after strong support.
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Flying Mohawk trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse
Flying Mohawk trainer, jockey, owner and more to know about 2025 Kentucky Derby horse Show Caption Hide Caption Bob Baffert: Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown championships and controversy Horse racing trainer Bob Baffert has multiple Kentucky Derby wins, two Triple Crown champions, and a career marked by both triumph and controversy. Flying Mohawk will enter the Kentucky Derby off a runner-up finish in the Jeff Ruby Steaks Flying Mohawk trainer Whit Beckman is a 2000 graduate of St. Xavier High School Flying Mohawk is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2025 Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs. Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September. The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 26. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. Flying Mohawk will enter the Kentucky Derby off a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 22 at Turfway Park. He currently ranks 15th on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 50. Color: Dark bay. Bred in: Kentucky. Sire: Karakontie. Dam: Bonbons Fleur, by Twirling Candy. Price tag: $72,000 at 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Owners: Two Eight Racing (Jayson Werth); Berry Family Racing (Jeff Berry); Kaleta Racing (Shawn Kaleta). Werth is 0 for 1 in the Derby after finishing 10th with Dornoch in 2024. First Derby for Berry and Kaleta. Trainer: Whit Beckman. He's 0 for 1 in the Derby after finishing eighth with Honor Marie in 2024. Jockey: Joe Ramos. First Derby. Record: 2-2-0 in six starts. Career earnings: $295,800. Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 50 (No. 15). Last race: Second in Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 22 at Turfway Park, 3 ½ lengths behind Flying Gambit. Running style: Closer. Notes: Flying Mohawk's first five races came on turf before moving to the Tapeta surface at Turfway Park for the Jeff Ruby Steaks. The Kentucky Derby will be his first race on dirt. … Co-owner Jayson Werth is a former All-Star outfielder with the Philadelphia Phillies. His Two Eight Racing is a reference to his No. 28 jersey number as a major leaguer. … Beckman is a 2000 graduate of St. Xavier High School in Louisville. A former assistant to Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher, Beckman, 43, went out on his own in 2021. What they're saying: 'Do we have the favorite? No,' Beckman said. 'But we still have a horse who earned his way into the race. No matter where he's run and what he's done, this is a race that long shots can win. This is not something where we go in hopeless. I get that we're going to be a long shot on the board, but the horse doesn't know that.' Last May, NBC Sports announced a partnership with Churchill Downs to present the Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock through 2032. The extension includes multiplatform rights to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Derby and Oaks Day programming, which will be presented on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and additional NBCU platforms. You can stream the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Fubo and Peacock. Post time for the 151st Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@ Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ. More horse racing: Here's how Journalism, likely Kentucky Derby favorite, got his name from a former editor
