Month: March 2021

Velazquez Gets Beautiful Gift Up In Final Yards Of Santa Ysabel

It may not rise to the level of settled science, but yet another equine case study was unveiled Sunday at Santa Anita, leaving little doubt that when it comes to big race results, this is indeed Bob Baffert's world and the rest of us are merely living in it.

Although she encountered unexpected trouble a quarter mile out, Baffert's Beautiful Gift, the “Other Baffert” in pari-mutuel parlance, was able to mount a furious rally through the lane and get up to nail Michael McCarthy's Moraz by a short head in the Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes, an important steppingstone to the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 3 at the Arcadia, Calif., track.  Ridden by John Velazquez, Beautiful Gift got a mile and one sixteenth in 1:44.83.

With Baffert's 3-5 favorite Kalypso showing the way to the far turn, Moraz was closing in, just a length back to her outside while Beautiful Gift sat third at the rail, about 1 ½ lengths off the lead.  Approaching the quarter pole, Moraz appeared to have gained the advantage and Beautiful Gift, full of run, was poised to come through at the rail, but instead had to wait and swing three-deep at the top of the lane, allowing Moraz to hold a seemingly insurmountable 2 ½ length lead with just a sixteenth of a mile to run.

“She was full of run and I was trying to keep her from getting dirt in her face but when Rispoli (Umberto, aboard Moraz) pushed Joel (Rosario, aboard Kalypso) in, I had to take a hold of her,” said Velazquez.  “But she was able to overcome it…By the time I got her to the outside, I got her rolling and I was hoping she would get there before the wire and she did.”

Idle since breaking her maiden at a flat mile on Oct. 23, Beautiful Gift, who was one of three Baffert entrants among a field of four sophomore fillies, was off at 3-1 and paid $8.00 and $3.80 with no show wagering.

“I didn't think Johnny was going to get there and all of a sudden that mare kicked in and (Beautiful Gift) is really (good).  We gave her some time.  She got really light on us.  The further the better for her.  I didn't think she got there until I saw the super slow mo, but I'm just happy that they ran well…It's nice to get these fillies, it's all I have for the Oaks, so it's fun.”

A daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, owned and bred by Baoma Corporation, Beautiful Gift is out of the A.P. Indy mare Sea Gift.  With two wins from three starts, the winner's share of $60,000 boosted  her earnings to $99,600.

The second choice at 2-1, Moraz finished 2 ¾ lengths in front of Kalypso and paid $3.20 to show.  Baffert's third entrant, Heels Up, was last throughout and was distanced by nearly 26 lengths at 16-1.

Baffert, whose top rated Derby hopeful Life Is Good ran away with Saturday's Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes, now has nine stakes wins and 21 overall victories at the current Winter/Spring Meet, putting him first in both categories.

Beautiful Gift will receive 50 qualifying points to the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, which will be run on April 30.  The second, third and fourth place finishers will receive 20, 10 and five points respectively.

Fractions on the race were 23.95, 48.13, 1:12.69 and 1:38.21.

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Life Is Good, At 2-1, Shortest-Priced March Favorite Ever In Kentucky Derby Future Wager

Eight weeks in advance of the $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1), the unbeaten Bob Baffert-trained Life Is Good closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) with Champion 2-Year-Old Male Essential Quality the 5-1 second betting choice and Fountain of Youth (GII) winner Greatest Honour third at 6-1.

This marked only the fourth time in the last 19 years that the pari-mutuel field of “All Other 3-Year-Olds” did not close as the March future pool favorite. “All Other 3-Year-Olds” closed at 7-1.

Life Is Good, who closed as the 5-1 individual favorite in Pool 1 and 7-1 individual choice in Pools 2 and 3, is the shortest-priced individual March future wager favorite in the 23-year history of the KDFW. Past March individual favorites included Mohaymen (7-2 in 2016), Uncle Mo (3-1 in 2011) and Pyro (4-1 in 2008).

On Saturday, Life Is Good improved to a perfect three wins in three starts with an eight-length romp in the $300,000 San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita for six-time Kentucky Derby-winner Baffert. In the Derby with 60 Road to the Kentucky Derby points, the son of Into Mischief is expected to make his final Derby prep in the April 3 Santa Anita Derby (G1).

Essential Quality, trained by Louisville native and Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, also is unbeaten. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) winner improved his record to 4-for-4 with a 4 ¼-length triumph in the $750,000 Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27, his first start as a 3-year-old. Ranked fourth with 40 Derby points, the Tapit colt is expected to compete next in Keeneland's Blue Grass (G2) on April 3.

Holy Bull (G3) and Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Greatest Honour, trained by Shug McGaughey, will attempt a sweep of the South Florida series in the March 27 Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

Horses in order of favoritism in the three-day March 5-7 KDFW Pool 4 (trainer, odds and $2 Win will pays): #13 Life Is Good (Bob Baffert, 2-1, $6); #6 Essential Quality (Brad Cox, 5-1, $13.80); #8 Greatest Honour (Shug McGaughey, 6-1, $15.60); #24 “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (7-1, $16); #1 Caddo River (Brad Cox, 16-1, $35); #14 Mandaloun (Brad Cox, 17-1, $36.20); #4 Concert Tour (Bob Baffert, 17-1, $37.60); #17 Prevalence (Brendan Walsh, 29-1, $61); #3 Collaborate (Saffie Joseph Jr., 29-1, $61.60); #12 Keepmeinmind (Robertino Diodoro, 30-1, $62.40); #9 Highly Motivated (Chad Brown, 36-1, $75.40); #15 Medina Spirit (Bob Baffert, 39-1, $81); #18 Proxy (Mike Stidham, 41-1, $85.80); #19 Risk Taking (Chad Brown, 42-1, $86.80); #16 Midnight Bourbon (Steve Asmussen, 52-1, $107.20); #10 Hot Rod Charlie (Doug O'Neill, 53-1, $108); #22 Spielberg (Bob Baffert, 63-1, $128.40); #2 Candy Man Rocket (Bill Mott, 71-1, $145); #5 Dream Shake (Peter Eurton, 71-1, $145.40); #23 The Great One (Doug O'Neill, 79-1, $160); #7 Freedom Fighter (Bob Baffert, 84-1, $171.20); #20 Roman Centurian (Simon Callaghan, 94-1, $191); #21 Rombauer (Michael McCarthy, 109-1, $220.80); and #11 Hush of a Storm (Bill Morey, 146-1, $295).

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, offered for a 23rd consecutive year, enables bettors to wager on possible Kentucky Derby contenders in advance of America's greatest race at odds that could be more attractive than those available on the day of the race. The $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will be run for the 147th consecutive year on Saturday, May 1.

In the lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which was conducted concurrently with the KDFW, Rachel Alexandra (G2) winner Clairiere closed as 7-2 favorite over “All Other 3-Year-Old Fillies,” which was 5-1.

The final odds for the Oaks Future Wager: #2 Clairiere (Steve Asmussen, 7-2, $9.80); #24 All Other 3-Year-Old Fillies (5-1, $13.40); #18 Travel Column (Brad Cox, 6-1, $14.40); #9 Malathaat (Todd Pletcher, 7-1, $17.80); #21 Will's Secret (Dallas Stewart, 14-1, $31); #15Simply Ravishing (Kenny McPeek, 15-1, $33); #19 Vequist (Butch Reid Jr., 19-1, $41.80); #12 Pass the Champagne (George Weaver, 20-1, $43); #5 Dayoutoftheoffice (Tim Hamm, 22-1, $47.20); #6 Kalypso (Bob Baffert, 23-1, $48.60); #20 Wholebodemeister (Juan Carlos Avila, 28-1, $59); #23 Zaajel (Todd Pletcher, 28-1, $59); #13 Pauline's Pearl (Steve Asmussen, 28-1, $59.60); #14 Search Results (Chad Brown, 31-1, $65.40); #8 Li'l Tootsie (Tom Amoss, 35-1, $72.20); #4 Crazy Beautiful (Kenny McPeek, 39-1, $80.40); #11 Obligatory (Bill Mott, 40-1, $82.20); #10 Moraz (Michael McCarthy, 47-1, $96); #17 Sun Path (Brad Cox, 55-1, $112.80); #1 Bow Bow Girl (Dale Romans, 56-1, $115); #7 Lady Mystify (Peter Eurton, 63-1, $129.60); #3 Coach (Brad Cox, 67-1, $137.80); #22 Willful Woman (Steve Asmussen, 103-1, $209.20); and #16 Souper Sensational (Mark Casse, 110-1, $223.60).

All told, $471,494 was bet in future wagers over the three-day period. To date, Churchill Downs has handled $1,481,435 in future wagers since November.

Total handle for the March 5-7 KDFW pool – the fourth of five wagering pools in advance of the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby – was $322,477 ($231,632 in the Win pool and $90,844 in Exactas).

Betting on the Oaks Future Wager totaled $78,290 ($57,219 in the Win pool and $20,771 in Exactas).

The Oaks/Derby Future Double, which requires fans to correctly select the winners of both the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks on April 30 and the next day's Kentucky Derby, handled $70,727.

The year's fifth and final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool is set for March 26-28.

Visit www.KentuckyDerby.com/FutureWager for more information.

The post Life Is Good, At 2-1, Shortest-Priced March Favorite Ever In Kentucky Derby Future Wager appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Weyburn Exits 46-1 Gotham Shocker In Good Order; Jerkens Will Weigh All Options

Chiefswood Stables' Weyburn earned a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure for his dramatic nose score over Crowded Trade in Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham, a one-turn mile for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The Ontario homebred, trained by Jimmy Jerkens and piloted by Trevor McCarthy, exited the gate at 46-1. He bucked those odds and earned 50 qualifying points from his upset score towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Weyburn made his sophomore debut in the Gotham after a third-out December 5 maiden victory over sloppy and sealed conditions at the Queens County oval.

The dark bay son of multiple champion producer Pioneerof the Nile rated in second from his outside post just a half-length off pacesetter Freedom Fighter, dueled to the inside of Crowded Trade down the lane and got his nose on the wire first to complete the journey in 1:38.70.

Jerkens said Weyburn was in good order on Sunday morning.

“He looked good and sound and it looked like he ate up pretty well,” said Jerkens, whose lone Derby starter Wicked Strong, finished fourth in 2014. “He might be a little subdued and tired, but he'll bounce back quickly.”

The next and final local qualifying Derby prep is the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at Aqueduct, offering 100-40-20-10 qualifying points.

Jerkens said he was still unsure as to whether or not his newly minted stakes winner would target a two-turn debut in the nine-furlong event.

“We'll nominate to all of the obvious races, but we don't know what we're doing yet,” Jerkens said.

Weyburn is not Triple Crown nominated but Jerkens said he will likely be supplemented for $6,000. Any horse not nominated to the Triple Crown can be made eligible by March 29.

Weyburn is out of the A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, who also produced Chiefswood Stables' homebred and multiple graded stakes winner Yorkton.

Jerkens said multiple graded stakes winner Rocketry will arrive at his Belmont Park stable on Monday from Centennial Farm in Middleburg, Va.

The durable 7-year-old son of Hard Spun was last seen ending a nine-race slump when coming from ten lengths off the pace to win the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on November 6 at Keeneland.

Jerkens said Rocketry will target the 12-furlong Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn on June 4 at Belmont Park. He was a close second to Marconi in the 2019 edition of the Brooklyn.

“The Brooklyn is in the plan, but how we get there I'm not sure,” Jerkens said.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Farm, Rocketry is out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Farming and was purchased by his owners for $450,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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