December, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Figuring Out What’s Best’: Velazquez Has Options For Remsen Winner Brooklyn Strong

Trainer Daniel Velazquez, who secured his first graded stakes win with New York-bred Brooklyn Strong in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Remsen at the Big A, is considering a next spot with the son of second-crop sire Wicked Strong.

Brooklyn Strong battled gamely to the outside of Ten for Ten down the Aqueduct stretch, getting the better of his foe by a neck under jockey Joel Rosario.

With a triumph in the nine-furlong event for juveniles at the Ozone Park, N.Y., track Brooklyn Strong earned 10 qualifying points toward the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby scheduled for May 1, 2021, at Churchill Downs.

Brooklyn Strong returned to Delaware Park following the win and will eventually ship to Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., where the conditioner keeps a stable of about 20 horses.

Velazquez said he will consider all options for Brooklyn Strong, including the nine-furlong Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 6 at Aqueduct, which offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“We were so excited. We knew going in that it would be a step up in class against open company and he proved us right,” Velazquez said. “Right now, we just want to make sure we come back healthy. We'll give him a week or two to decompress, maybe Florida, maybe the Withers. We have options, it's just a matter of figuring out what's best.”

Velazquez learned the ropes under his father Alfredo Velazquez, who saddled Private Zone to Grade 1 victories in the 2014 Vosburgh and Cigar Mile.

Prior to the Remsen, he saddled Brooklyn Strong to a victory in the Sleepy Hollow on Empire Showcase Day, October 24 at Belmont Park and won the Maid of the Mist with Laobanonaprayer the same day.

“It's been getting better and better. A lot of hard work going into it,” Velazquez said. “It's almost unbelievable, we're all still shell shocked. We're excited.”

Brooklyn Strong, bred in New York by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan, was purchased by owner Mark Schwartz for $5,000 from OBS April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from the Coastal Equine consignment. He is out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Riviera Chic.

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UC Davis Vet Hospital Updates And Expands Equine Reproduction Space

The UC Davis veterinary hospital's Equine Reproduction Service has a newly renovated clinical teaching and research space at the school's Center for Equine Health. Dean Michael Lairmore, Executive Associate Dean John Pascoe, and Executive Assistant Dean Mary McNally officially unveiled the newly renovated space, which includes four custom-designed stocks and all new flooring. The Equine Reproduction Service team, led by Service Chief Dr. Ghislaine Dujovne and newly acquired faculty member Dr. Pouya Dini, also has a new student meeting space and expanded laboratory as part of the renovation.

Improvements to the Equine Reproduction Service facilities were funded by the school's Dean's Office, which saw the benefit the new space will offer to students and clients. The adjacent laboratory and clinical spaces offer “benchtop to bedside” clinical translation – a hallmark of the future Veterinary Medical Center and a major advantage of seeking treatment at a teaching hospital.

“We are grateful to Dean Lairmore and his office for providing the funding for this space,” said Dr. Carrie Finno, director of the Center for Equine Health. “This project has been more than a year in the making, starting before the pandemic began. It is a tremendous asset for students and residents training here at the Center, and also provides top-notch facilities for our clients.”

The Equine Reproduction Service provides routine and advanced equine reproductive care, including artificial insemination, ultrasonographic pregnancy diagnosis, fertility evaluation, semen collection and evaluation, transvaginal aspiration of oocytes, and embryo transfer.

“This new space gives our service a more efficient place to teach and practice,” said Dujovne. “The opportunities for students in this new treatment and research area will increase significantly, improving the quality of their education in equine reproduction.”

Sharp Starr Among Trio Of New York-Breds Scoring Weekend Graded Stakes Wins

Barry K. Schwartz's homebred Sharp Starr, a neck winner of the Grade 3 Go for Wand Handicap, was one of three New York-breds to pick up graded-stakes wins on Saturday joining Brooklyn Strong [Grade 2 Remsen] and Varda [Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos]. The Go for Wand and Remsen were run at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The victory in the one-turn mile for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up provided 35-year-old trainer Horacio DePaz with his first graded stakes win.

“I'm very happy for the filly. She's really developed,” said DePaz. “The owner was thrilled. We've always thought highly of the filly and she's really coming around. Obviously, he bred her and owns the mare, so he was really happy.”

With Jose Ortiz up, Sharp Starr tracked in second position, a length back of older eight-time winner Portal Creek, piloted by Kendrick Carmouche, before engaging in a stirring stretch duel over the sloppy and sealed main track.

“I was happy with the position she got,” said DePaz. “She broke clean and was able to get into the race and then Jose did a really good job of judging the pace. We were really concerned about Kendrick's filly getting loose on the lead. She was the only one that showed speed like that and the way the track was playing, we didn't want her to get too far away and leave us with too much to do. Jose rode her really well and judged it really well. It was a thriller down the stretch.”

Sharp Starr, a 3-year-old daughter of Munnings who has overcome a tendency to start slowly, graduated in July at Belmont Park and hit the board in a pair of nine-furlong events going two turns over the summer at Saratoga Race Course, including a closing third in the restricted Fleet Indian.

The dark bay was off-the-board in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in October at Pimlico Race Course before finding winning form in a 15 3/4-length score in a one-turn mile against state-breds on November 7 at the Big A that garnered a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

DePaz said the extended sprint distance suits Sharp Starr with a pair of one-mile events at the Big A – the open $125,000 Heavenly Prize on March 6 and $100,000 Biogio's Rose for state-breds on March 7 – under consideration.

“I'd like to keep her at the one-turn mile. I'll have to talk to the owner and see,” said DePaz. “She's great this morning. She's bright, alert. She ate up was sound on the road and no worse for wear.”

Sharp Starr's 2-year-old half-brother V Pattern, by Street Sense and out of the A.P. Indy mare Mindy Gold, continues to develop for DePaz. He earned a 46 Beyer in his lone start when sixth in a 6 1/2-furlong state-bred maiden special weight on October 18 at Belmont.

“He started once and it was too short for him but he got a good experience out of it,” said DePaz. “He also didn't break the sharpest in that race but made a run at the end. He can hopefully move forward from that.”

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Horsemen, Fans Embrace Claiming Crown At Gulfstream Park With Big Fields, Record Handle

By the time the Claiming Crown had ended Saturday at Gulfstream Park – after a record $14.6 million was wagered on the event – it was clear how much the Claiming Crown had grown over the past nine years at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track.

Not only was this a day when a horse claimed six weeks ago for $6,250 could win an $80,000 race, but this was also a day when a Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) runner-up could prep for the $3-million Pegasus World Cup (G1).

“No question, this event has evolved,” said Dan Metzger, president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). “I thought Saturday's fields, from top to bottom, were some of the best we ever had.”

Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), which partners with TOBA on the Claiming Crown, believes the event is looked upon differently now that it is at Gulfstream.

“I believe in the past some people looked at it as a year-end blowout. But I see it as the launch of a new year,” Hamelback said. “The Breeders' Cup kind of wraps up the year. But because it's at Gulfstream, and the opening weekend of the Championship Meet, I think it's become the beginning of a new year. I think if it was earlier in the fall or summer, you wouldn't have the buildup or the quality you have. The job [vice president of racing] Mike [Lakow], [stakes coordinator] Eric Friedman and, of course [executive director of Florida racing operations] Billy Badgett did was incredible.”

In the nine years the Claiming Crown has been held at Gulfstream, handle on the day's program has increased each year. Prior to 2012, the largest handle on the previous 13 Claiming Crown programs – Claiming Crown races only – was $4,906,096. On the nine Claiming Crown races held at Gulfstream Saturday, handle was $12,074,238.

“The support of the fans who set a record for total wagering is a testament to the competitive and quality fields,” Metzger said.

Along with Breeders' Cup Mile runner-up Jesus' Team prepping for the Pegasus World Cup with a victory in the $150,000 Jewel, there were 10 other horses that won or placed in graded stakes participating in the Claiming Crown. In total, there were 108 horses entered in the nine Claiming Crown races.

“When the card was drawn we knew we had something special to offer,” said Lakow.

Along with those graded-stakes winners and placed horses, there were also stories like Descente, claimed for $6,520 in October, winning the $80,000 Glass Slipper; the 55-1 longshot High Noon Rider winning the $95,000 Emerald; the promising 3-year-old Fiya remaining undefeated on turf winning the Canterbury; and the former $16,000 claimer Krsto Skye winning the $75,000 Express.

“I think at the beginning not a lot of people targeted [the Claiming Crown],” said trainer Peter Walder, who won his second consecutive Glass Slipper with Descente. “But now that it's at Gulfstream, a lot of people are shipping in for the Championship Meet, and there's a lot of owners who want to come here. Why wouldn't you?”

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