January, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Refreshed Ax Man Set For Sprint Return In Palos Verdes

REFRESHED AX MAN COMES BACK IN PALOS VERDES

Ax Man, who has not raced since last July when he was fourth of five behind stablemate Maximum Security in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles, returns this Saturday in the G3 Palos Verdes Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

He also is nominated to next Sunday's $70,000 Clockers' Corner Stakes at six furlongs on turf. He was fourth in that race last year.

A 6-year-old gelded son of the Candy Ride stallion Misremembered, Ax Man has been firing bullets for his return, among them a five-furlong drill in 57.80 on Jan. 2 and another at that distance of 58.80 on Saturday.

Misremembered, trained by Bob Baffert for his wife, Jill, and George Jacobs, won the G1 Santa Anita Handicap in 2010.

“Ax Man lost interest, so I backed off and freshened him up,” Baffert said in explaining the absence of more than five months.

Owned by long-time Baffert clients Patti and Hal Earnhardt III, Ax Man, who was bred in Kentucky by Hal, has six wins from 14 career starts with earnings of $297,917.

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Chilean Star Brooke ‘Training Forwardly’ For U.S. Debut In Santa Anita’s Megahertz

Brooke, a Chilean-bred mare who was a monster in her native country, gong off as the odds-on favorite in six of her seven races while winning five, makes her United States debut in Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday feature, the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

“She's been training very forwardly,” said Simon Callaghan, who conditions the 5-year-old chestnut for the Don Alberto Stable. “I've had her for three or four months. The owners thought she would like the firm turf in California, which is why they sent her here.

“Hopefully she can add to her resume.”

Brooke will once again be ridden by jockey Jeremy Laprida, who has been aboard in each of her eight career starts, including her most recent, a ninth-place finish in a field of 17 on a heavy turf course at one mile in Argentina's Group 2 Longines Cup last March 20.

“He's ridden her in Chile and the owners wanted him for her first race here,” Callaghan said of Laprida, who has ridden in the U.S. at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., 19 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

Megahertz was a diminutive chestnut mare bred in England who gained popularity with racing fans thanks her small size and big stretch runs against top company.

Trained by the late Bobby Frankel for owner Michael Bello, Megahertz was a multiple graded stakes winner on turf compiling a 14-6-5 record from 34 starts, earning $2,261,594.

The Megahertz is for fillies and mares four and up at one mile on turf. It is race seven of nine with a 12:30 p.m. Pacific first post time.

The field: Brooke, Jeremy Laprida, 4-1; $2,000 supplemental nominee Colonial Creed, Flavien Prat, 7-2; $2,000 supplemental nominee Lucky Peridot, Abel Cedillo, 8-1; Mucho Unusual, Joel Rosario, 9-5; Hippodamia's Girl, Juan Hernandez, 8-1; andSedamar, Umberto Rispoli, 5-2.

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A Pair of 22-Year-Olds, Apprentice Centeno And Agent Arroyo Celebrate Rider’s Initial Stakes Success

Alexis Centeno, a 22-year-old apprentice rider from Puerto Rico, won his first stakes race Saturday piloting Brickyard Ride to a front-running victory in the $150,000 Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

“First, I want to thank God and (trainer) Craig Lewis who has helped me a lot, and my agent,” Centeno said immediately after the victory. “I'm happy. … Brickyard Ride is so special for me. I won two races in a row with him. I love this horse.”

Centeno is represented by 22-year-old agent Erick “Goldy” Arroyo. They have been together since last June.

“He works hard and he's a humble kid,” Arroyo said of Centeno, who attended Puerto Rico's celebrated jockey school, Escuela Vocacional Hipica, which has produced riding greats Angel Cordero Jr., Eddie Belmonte, John Velazquez and the Ortiz brothers, Irad Jr. and Jose, among others.

Arroyo was studying business at Pasadena City College before taking a respite to work as an agent. His long-range goal is to become a teacher.

As to how he got the nickname of Goldy, Arroyo explains, “When I was born my father thought my forehead shined like gold, and said, “That's it. From now on, you're Goldy.”

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Brother to Bobby’s Kitten Starts at Cagnes

11.25 Cagnes-sur-Mer, Debutantes, €23,000, 3yo, c/g, 7 1/2f (AWT)
AFKAAR (Kitten’s Joy) debuts for Shadwell and Jean-Claude Rouget and is a full-brother to the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint-winning sire Bobby’s Kitten and multiple graded-stakes scorer Camelot Kitten. The March-foaled bay, who cost $500,000 at Keeneland September, meets eight rivals.

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