Alain and Gerard Wertheimer’s homebred Happy Saver, making just his fourth career start, skimmed the rail in the stretch to get the lead under Irad Ortiz Jr., inching past fellow sophomore Mystic Guide to win the Grade 1
Month: October 2020
8-Year-Old Almanaar Repeats In Monmouth Stakes Off Lengthy Layoff
Despite being idle for more than 16 months Almanaar reinforced two well-known beliefs in Saturday's Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. One is that age is just a number. The other is that trainer Chad Brown has the rare ability to have a turf horse ready no matter how long it has been between races.
Almanaar made his 8-year-old debut a winning one in capturing the Monmouth Stakes for the second straight year, rallying stoutly from next-to-last after three quarters of a mile to give Brown a 1-2 finish in the $150,000 feature race on the 11-race card.
The gelded son of Dubawi, who rolled home one length ahead of stablemate Serve the King in the nine-furlong turf stakes, had last raced on May 25, 2019, at Monmouth Park when he won the Monmouth Stakes, then a Grade 2. Prior to that race, his only start in 2019, he had been idle for four months.
None of that mattered as the 3-2 favorite in the field of nine 3-year-olds and up used his strong late kick to overpower the field.
Serve the King finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Bal Harbour.
“He has been training well at Belmont the whole time,” said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown's string at Monmouth Park. “The guys there really like the way he has been training. So he has been doing well. These type of horses know what to do. They know where the wire is. So you don't worry about the layoff with those types. And he has a lot of class. We know that.
“He ran great. I'm very happy with his performance. I can't say I'm surprised because this horse has been training consistently. He has not missed a work. He was fit and he was ready. Chad always makes sure the horses are 100 percent ready to run.”
Owned by Shadwell Stable, Almanaar won for the eighth time in 21 career starts, a record that includes a victory on the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in 2017.
Though far back in the field early, jockey Joe Bravo said he knew exactly what he was sitting on and tried to be patient through fractions of :48.82 to the half, 1:12.93 to three quarters and 1:37.31 for the opening mile.
The final time for the nine furlongs over a firm turf course was 1:49.22
It was just two weeks ago that Brown trainees finished 1-2 in the $100,000 Violet Stakes on the grass at Monmouth Park, with She's Got You winning off a 12-week layoff.
“Only Chad Brown does this. He's amazing,” said Bravo. “This is the second time this year that he has done this in a stakes race at Monmouth Park by winning off a long layoff. (This is) an old horse but he's a trouper. He's so strong and powerful that I just wanted to give him some daylight turning for home. Class prevailed.”
Almanaar paid $5.00 to win, boosting his career earnings to $900,349.
After the opening half mile, and even after three quarters had been run, Almanaar had just one horse beat until he made his explosive move coming out of the turn, overhauling Bal Harbour while having more than enough in reserve to hold off Serve the King.
Racing resumes at Monmouth Park with a special eight-race holiday card on Monday, Oct. 12, with the $100,000 Born to Run Stakes for 2-year-olds serving as the feature. First race post is 12:50 p.m.
The post 8-Year-Old Almanaar Repeats In Monmouth Stakes Off Lengthy Layoff appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Harvey’s Lil Goil Becomes First GISW for American Pharoah in QEII
Versatile Harvey’s Lil Goil (American Pharoah) turned the tables on Micheline (Bernardini)–who defeated her by a neck last time in the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs–to become the first Grade I winner for Triple Crown-winning sire American Pharoah in Saturday’s GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland. Off at 7-2 bidding to become Hall of Famer Bill Mott’s second winner in this prestigious event, the grey employed her good cruising speed to chase Sweet Melania (American Pharoah) through honest enough fractions of :23.89, :47.75 and 1:12.16. She poked a head in front midway around the turn for home, kicked clear in midstretch and held off the cavalry charge to prevail.
“She has a lot of natural speed,” said winning rider Martin Garcia. “She’s fast–you can do whatever you want. After the break, I moved outside and she was really comfortable by herself. When it was time to go, I asked and she responded.”
Mott’s assistant Kenny McCarthy added, “We were pretty confident with her. She ran a super race for us at Kentucky Downs in her last out and had trained really well in between. She’s a little superstar. She pretty much goes on any surface for us. At least in my mind, I think the turf probably is a little bit easier for her to handle.”
A six-length, second-out graduate going turf to dirt at Aqueduct in December, Harvey’s Lil Goil turned heads when making a big turn move en route to a dominant victory in Aqueduct’s Feb. 2 Busanda S. over nine panels on the dirt. She was 11th in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn behind heavy hitters Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), Venetian Harbor (Munnings) and Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), but bounced back to narrowly annex the GIII Regret S. on the Churchill turf going this same distance. Third behind Swiss Skydiver in the 10-panel GI Alabama S. on the Spa main track Aug. 15, she led late in the uphill Kentucky Downs stretch Sept. 10 only to be run down in the waning stages.
Saturday, Keeneland
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP S. PRESENTED BY DIXIANA-GI, $500,000, Keeneland, 10-10, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:48.72, gd.
1–HARVEY’S LIL GOIL, 121, f, 3, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Gloria S, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Arch’s Gal Edith, by Arch
3rd Dam: Force Five Gal, by Pleasant Tap
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Estate of Harvey A. Clarke & Paul
Braverman; B-Harvey A. Clarke (KY); T-William I. Mott;
J-Martin Garcia. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-1, $561,529.
Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Micheline, 121, f, 3, by Bernardini
1st Dam: Panty Raid, by Include
2nd Dam: Adventurous Di, by Private Account
3rd Dam: Tamaral, by Seattle Slew
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $100,000.
3–Magic Attitude (GB), 121, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Margot Did (Ire), by Exceed And Excel (Aus)
2nd Dam: Special Dancer (GB), by Shareef Dancer
3rd Dam: Caraniya (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
(€850,000 RNA Ylg ’18 ARAUG). O-Lael Stables; B-Katsumi
Yoshida (GB); T-Arnaud Delacour. $50,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, HF. Odds: 3.60, 11.00, 1.60.
Also Ran: Red Lark (Ire), California Kook, Hendy Woods, Sweet Melania. Scratched: Antoinette, Lucky Betty.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Pedigree Notes:
Harvey’s Lil Goil is from a family developed by her breeder, the late Harvey A. Clarke. Her dam, the unraced Gloria S., is a half-sister to the Clarke-bred champion I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley), best known as the winner of the 2012 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. Clarke also bred the same family’s Golden Award (Medaglia d’Oro), a dual graded stakes winner last year. Gloria S. produced fillies by Cairo Prince the last two breeding seasons and most recently visited Twirling Candy. Harvey’s Lil Goil is one of 11 black-type winners (seven graded) for American Pharoah. She is the fourth of what figures to be many more Grade I/Group 1 winners out of Tapit mares.
The post Harvey’s Lil Goil Becomes First GISW for American Pharoah in QEII appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Unbeaten Happy Saver Gives Pletcher First Jockey Club Gold Cup Triumph
Saving ground throughout under Irad Ortiz Jr., Wertheimer and Frere's homebred Happy Saver outdueled fellow 3-year-old Mystic Guide and 3-5 favorite Tacitus with a determined stretch run to win Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Now a perfect four-for-four after his first graded stakes win, Happy Saver earned a fees-paid berth for the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Classic after the Win and You're In Breeders' Cup Challenge Series victory.
Happy Saver covered 1 1/4 miles on a fast main track in 2:02.09 and paid $6.70 to win. Mystic Guide, ridden by John Velazquez and coming off a victory in the G2 Jim Dandy, finished second, beaten three-quarters of a length. Tacitus, who set an uncontested pace under Jose Ortiz, finished another 1 1/4 lengths back in third, with Prioritize fourth and Name Changer fifth.
The victory was the first in the Jockey Club Gold Cup for Pletcher, who trained Vino Rosso, first across the finish but disqualified and placed second for stretch interference in last year's running. Vino Rosso went on to win the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic.
“Not only had we not won it,” said Pletcher, “we'd suffered some really close defeats and then throw in a disqualification on top of that and it's been a frustrating one over the years. This one was fun. It's one of the races that has been hard on us. We've had some tough losses and it was very fulfilling to win it today.”
Happy Saver broke alertly, but Jose Ortiz seemed intent on getting the early lead aboard Tacitus, who was allowed to set soft fractions of :24.93, :49.68 and 1:13.61 for the opening six furlongs. Happy Saver tucked in just behind the leader, while Mystic Guide was to his outside and in the clear in the long run down the backstretch.
Mystic Guide moved up to challenge Tacitus with a quarter mile to run, the mile clocked in 1:37.25, while Irad Ortiz Jr. kept Happy Saver glued to the fence, waiting for daylight. That opportunity came when Tacitus and Mystic Guide straightened away into the stretch, and Happy Saver quickly accelerated through the opening, setting the stage for a three-horse duel down the lane.
Tacitus was the first to retreat, then Happy Saver showed his superiority over Mystic Guide, inching away in the final sixteenth of a mile for the winning margin.
“He has a big heart, like I told Todd in the paddockmk,” Ortiz said of Happy Saver. “He's a fighter. Every time he has a horse in front of him and when you ask him to go, he passes the horse and then he puts his ears up. He still had something after he went by Johnny's horse.
“It was emotional. I wanted to win it so bad. Last year, I got DQ'd and that was for Todd, too. He's a cool horse, a special horse. I rode him first time out and we knew he was a nice horse. Todd has always liked him.
“This race was uncomfortable for him. I wasn't really happy down in there but I didn't really have any other options. I just had to go with the flow of the race. I thought we were going to be on the lead and I was surprised to look up and see Tacitus on the lead early. I can't take back but I can't go head and head so I just let my horse be there. I used him a little on the backside to stay close and go from there.
“I had horse. I just didn't have anywhere to go. I had a little space inside but i didn't know if Jose [Ortiz, aboard Tacitus] had a lot of horse and I didn't want to check him because his horse has a big stride, so I just waited. When we turned for home, I knew he'd be there for me and if the hole was still open, I'd go for it. If not, I'd go around Johnny [Velazquez aboard Mystic Guide]. But it was still open, so I went for it. When I needed him, he was there for me.”
“Watching the race, I thought he was a little uncomfortable inside there,” Pletcher said of Happy Saver. “He was in a tricky spot. Johnny [Velazquez, aboard Mystic Guide] had first run on him and was able to keep him in there. To his credit, that was a pretty game performance to come up the inside there in his fourth start and first time against older horses going a mile and a quarter. To do that after breaking his maiden on June 20th is hard to do.
“I was very proud of the horse and his performance. I'm happy for the connections, the Wertheimers have been loyal supporters for many years and I'm appreciative of that. It's great to get a Grade 1 win for them. He's by a Derby winner [Super Saver (2010)] we trained, so it's fun all the way around.
“When we started getting serious with his breezes, he was breezing with Dr Post and some horses we knew had talent and he was staying right with them, but I couldn't have imagined on June 20 he'd be winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup and be 4-for-4. That's hard to do, but it's a tribute to his quality.”
Happy Saver, bred in Kentucky, was produced from Happy Week, a daughter of Distorted Humor. Happy Saver's third dam is Weekend Surprise, a broodmare of the year whose offspring include Horse of the Year and leading sire A.P. Indy.
Pletcher said he would evaluate how Happy Saver comes out of the race before deciding on whether or not he goes to the Breeders' Cup.
“First and foremost we'll see how he bounces out of this race,” said Pletcher. “It was a tough race and he's still a lightly raced horse. That's part of the reason we decided to come here instead of going to the Preakness. We'll enjoy this for the moment and talk to the Wertheimers and come up with a plan. I wouldn't say we're definite for it, but I wouldn't rule it out either.”
Happy Saver begins to pull away from Mystic Guide nearing the finish of the Jockey Club Gold Cup
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