March, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Helium Returns Big ‘Balloons’ In Tampa Bay Derby Upset

D J Stable LLC's Helium (Ironicus) overcame an impossibly wide trip and gamely fended off a late charge from the well-backed Hidden Stash (Constitution) to upset Saturday's GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby by three-quarters of a length while making his dirt and two-turn debuts.

Perfect in two starts going seven furlongs over the Woodbine synthetic last year, including a 4 1/4-length success in the Display S. when last seen Oct. 18, the $55,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling graduate's worktab included a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 (1/8) at Palm Meadows Feb. 3.

Helium was slow into stride from a wide gate and was left no choice but to take the first turn in about the six path while racing with just two rivals behind. Five or six paths off the inside down the backstretch, Helium went for an early run with about a half-mile to run, but continued to be trapped off the track, as favored GIII Sam F. Davis S. winner Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}) was moving simultaneously underneath him.

Consigned to a five-deep trip around the second turn, Helium nevertheless gained steadily on the leaders, was shifted down to the inside when making the lead in upper stretch and managed to hold sway late.

Hidden Stash, a closing third to Candy Man Rocket in the Sam F. Davis, looked to have Helium at his mercy at the sixteenth pole, but was swatted away late and settled for second.

Candy Man Rocket was out of gas by the top of the stretch and tired to 11th.

“Our biggest concern going into the race was not only the competition, but also the distance, because he had never gone further than seven furlongs,” said DJ Stables Racing Manager Jon Green. “We were also concerned about the surface, because he had only run on the Tapeta at Woodbine. So we felt like he had three things he had to accomplish today–not only to beat the top horses in the race, but also overcome the two turns, the surface, and the layoff. So for him to accomplish what he did today by holding off a very nice horse in Hidden Stash, made us very excited for his future.”

Green added, “As of now, we're unsure as to his next start. We're going to analyze where the competition is going and decide what would be his best spot.”

Helium is not currently nominated to the Triple Crown, but will be supplemented for $6,000 at the next deadline at the end of March, said Green. “He has certainly punched his ticket.”

Helium was purchased privately last March as a 2-year-old from Bo Hunt. “The horse industry certainly works in mysterious ways,” said Green. “If it weren't for COVID, we never would have been able to buy this horse. We bought him privately because we weren't sure what was going to happen with the sales.”

Green said, “I really want to give Mark Casse tremendous credit for being able to be flexible with this horse and pivoting as many times as we did with him before landing on the Tampa Bay Derby in his 3-year-old debut.”

Casse said, “He trained well enough that we thought he deserved a chance. Again, I have to give so much credit to Nick Tomlinson who had him down at Palm Meadows for us. We had thought about running in the Gotham and thought, if we're going to try the dirt, let's run him close to home. It worked well for us.

Casse continued, “This horse is something because he got away a little slow today and we had planned on him being closer. He made that big wide run, he made the lead but [after Hidden Stash rallied] I was going to be happy with second. I thought, we can build on this, because this is only his third start and there is a lot of room for improvement. What was amazing is that he wasn't overly exhausted after the race. He's a beautiful horse, he's bred to run all day long and he looks like a Derby horse, so it's exciting.”

Winning rider Jose Ferrer added, “On the backside, I had all kind of horse under me, and when I set him down at the three-eighths pole, I could see I had a chance. I just had so much horse and he flew down the lane. Then I think he got by himself and kind of got bored and he thought, game over. But I still had plemty of horse and be re-broke again.”

Pedigree Notes:

Helium hails from the first crop of Ironicus. He became the first stakes winner for the young Claiborne sire after securing last term's Display and is also his first graded winner. This is the 46th graded winner for Thunder Gulch as a broodmare sire.

Thundering Emilia, a $15,000 KEESEP yearling graduate, carried Teneri Farms' colors to a win in Delaware's John W. Rooney Memorial S. She was also a GSW & G1SP in Peru.

Progeny in the pipeline for Thundering Emilia include the 2-year-old colt Thunder Stride (Classic Empire) and a yearling colt by Accelerate. She was bred to American Pharoah for 2021.

Winning owner DJ Stable bought Helium's 6-year-old GSP half-sister Mighty Scarlett (Scat Daddy) for $240,000 at the 2020 KEENOV Sale.

This is the family of Peruvian champions Valiant Emilia (Per) and Domingo.

Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs
LAMBHOLM SOUTH TAMPA BAY DERBY-GII, $350,000, Tampa Bay Downs, 3-6, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.55, ft.
1–HELIUM, 117, c, 3, by Ironicus
1st Dam: Thundering Emilia (GSW & G1SP-Per,
SW-USA, $140,963), by Thunder Gulch
2nd Dam: Saint Emilia (Per), by Saint Ballado
3rd Dam: Proud Emilia, by Proud Appeal
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($55,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). O-D. J.
Stable LLC; B-Teneri Farm Inc & Bernardo Alvarez Calderon
(KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Jose C. Ferrer. $210,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-3-0-0, $287,763. *1/2 to Mighty Scarlett (Scat
Daddy), GSP, $225,860; Emilia's Moon (Malibu Moon),
G1SW-Per. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hidden Stash, 117, c, 3, Constitution–Making Mark Money,
by Smart Strike. ($50,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-BBN Racing, LLC;
B-Rhineshire Farm LLC (KY); T-Victoria H. Oliver. $70,000.
3–Moonlite Strike, 117, c, 3, Liam's Map–Twinkling, by War
Chant. ($45,000 RNA Wlg '18 KEENOV; $120,000 Ylg '19
KEESEP; $145,000 RNA 2yo '20 OBSMAR; $77,000 RNA 2yo '20
OBSOPN). O-Sonata Stable; B-Brushy Hill, LLC (KY); T-Saffie A.
Joseph, Jr. $35,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 15.40, 3.10, 34.60.
Also Ran: Unbridled Honor, King of Dreams, Awesome Gerry, Sittin On Go, Boca Boy, My Liberty, Super Strong, Candy Man Rocket, Promise Keeper.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Helium Remains Unbeaten With Tampa Bay Derby Surprise

D J Stable's Helium transformed his synthetic track form to dirt and improved his record to a perfect 3-for-3 with an off-the-pace victory in Saturday's Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.

Trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Jose Ferrer, Helium ran 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43.55 and paid $32.80 as a 15-1 longshot. Hidden Stash, who ranged up to challenge the winner in mid-stretch, finished second as the 3-1 second choice, with another longshot, 34-1 Moonlite Strike third, Unbridled Honor finished fourth, with King of Dreams fifth. Candy Man Rocket, the 8-5 favorite coming off a victory in the G3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, was never a factor.

The Tampa Bay Derby offered 85 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby with 50-20-10-5 to the top four finishers.

From the first crop of Ironicus, a top-class turf performer by Distorted Humor, Helium won his first two starts on the Tapeta synthetic surface at Woodbine, including a 4 1/4-length victory in the Display Stakes in his most recent start on Oct. 18.

Boca Boy reprised his role from the Sam F. Davis, setting the pace through fractions of :23.23, :47.06 and 1:11.38 for the first six furlongs. King of Dreams and Moonlite Strike were in closest pursuit, with Helium kept to the far outside in the run down the backstretch, with Hidden Stash just behind him.

Approaching the far turn, Ferrer put Helium in a four-wide drive and had the lead entering the stretch. Hidden Stash rallied alongside Helium, possibly putting his nose in front just inside the eighth pole, but Helium fought back and gradually edged clear approaching the wire.

“I'm just so happy to ride my first Tampa Bay Derby,” said Ferrer. “I always wanted to ride this race. Mark Casse gave me a great opportunity to go out there and do my job and do my thing. On the backside, I had all kind of horse under me, and I could see who had more horse and when I set him down at the three-eighths pole, I could see I had a chance. I just had so much horse and he flew down the lane. Then I think he got by himself and kind of got bored and he thought, game over. But I still had plemty of horse and be re-broke again.”

“He trained well enough that we thought he deserved a chance,” Casse said. “Again, I have to give so much credit to Nick Tomlinson who had him down at Palm Meadows for us. We had thought about running in the Gotham and thought, if we're going to try the dirt, let's run him close to home. It worked well for us.

“This horse is something because he got away a little slow today and we had planned on him being closer,” Casse added. “He made that big wide run, he made the lead but (after Hidden Stash rallied) I was going to be happy with second. I thought, we can build on this, because this is only his third start and there is a lot of room for improvement. What was amazing is that he wasn't overly exhausted after the race. He's a beautiful horse, he's bred to run all day long and he looks like a Derby horse, so it's exciting.”

The post Helium Remains Unbeaten With Tampa Bay Derby Surprise appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Weyburn Fights Back Late To Win Gotham At 46-1

Fighting back on the inside, Chiefswood Stables' homebred Weyburn, overtook Crowded Trade in a thrilling stretch duel to win the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Ridden by Trevor McCarthy for trainer James Jerkens, Weyburn earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. Runner-up Crowded Trade earned 20 points, with Chad Brown stablemate Highly Motivated earning 10 points for third and Bob Baffert-trained West Coast invader Freedom Fighter getting five points for fourth.

Sent away at 46-a odds, Weyburn, a 3-year-old Ontario-bred by Pioneerof the Nile out of Sunday Affair, by A.P. Indy, paid $95.50 for the win.

Freedom Fighter went to the front under Manny Franco, going :24.29 for the opening quarter and :48.03 for the half mile. Weyburn raced alongside as they went six furlongs in 1:12.85, when Crowded Trade and Eric Cancel joined the dueling leaders on the turn. Freedom Fighter backed out first and Crowded Trade had all the momentum on the outside, poking his nose in front in mid-stretch. Approaching the wire, Weyburn jumped from his left lead to his right lead and fought back, getting his nose in front just in time.

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Pioneerof the Nile Colt Lights Up Tote Board in Gotham

Chiefswood Stables homebred Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile), last seen breaking his maiden going seven panels in the local slop Dec. 5, slipped past the bettors and into the winner's circle to post a 46-1 upset in Aqueduct's GIII Gotham S. He fended off Chad Brown trainee Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) to take the head bob, with that one's stablemate Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) a non-threatening third as the 4-5 chalk.

Away well from his outside draw, Weyburn locked on to California invader Freedom Fighter (Violence) through splits of :24.29 and :48.03. He challenged the pacesetter at the quarter pole as Crowded Trade looked like he would blow on by him out wider, but Weyburn dug deep to eek out the narrow and improbable victory and pick up 50 GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Fifth sprinting in his Belmont debut in October, Weyburn sported first-time blinkers when second going seven furlongs here Nov. 14 before donning cap and gown in the slop while earning just a 69 Beyer Speed Figure. Perhaps his recent worktab on the Belmont training track signaled his readiness–it included a 1:00 1/5 bullet from the gate two breezes back Feb. 25.

“We thought he would like the distance, ultimately. His last two works were sensational,” said trainer Jimmy Jerkens, whose father, the legendary H. Allen Jerkens, won this event in 1992 with Devil his Due. “He went three-quarters in 1:13 and galloped out in 26 and change. I didn't mean for him to go that fast. But you don't worry about that when they're fresh and strong. He was going to have to do something like that to win a race like this. We had to ask him for something in the morning and replicate it in the afternoon.”

Jerkens, who did win the GI Wood Memorial S. in 2014, said of returning in that now Grade II final stepping stone for the

GI Kentucky Derby: “I don't know. We'll just take this all in. Of course it's a logical spot. It's right here. He's kind of a quirky horse. The pony man takes him every morning because he's tough and wants to wheel. He's still a little kid. He doesn't trust everybody. This is just really satisfying because it's been a tough winter and we loved him from day one. He didn't run first out and we didn't know what to think. Thank God we stuck to our guns. I think he'll end up being a decent colt.”

Rob Landry, general manager of Robert and Mark Krembil's Ontario-based Chiefswood Stables, was on hand Saturday.

“His half-brother Yorkton was a fighter and Nipigon, his other half-brother, was a real fighter, too,” Landry said. “He looked like he really dug in hard in the stretch when it counted. He had every reason to give up.”

When asked about any potential Kentucky Derby dreams, Landry said, “We don't want to get too excited. We haven't nominated him to the Triple Crown because we were a little bit behind, but that doesn't stop us from supplementing him. If he earns his way there, he'll get to run there. There's still a long way to go.”

Saturday, Aqueduct
GOTHAM S.-GIII, $300,000, Aqueduct, 3-6, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.70, ft.
1–WEYBURN, 118, c, 3, by Pioneerof the Nile
                1st Dam: Sunday Affair, by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Million Gift (Jpn), by Sunday Silence
                3rd Dam: Maplejinsky, by Nijinsky II
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Chiefswood Stables Limited (ON); T-James A. Jerkens;
J-Trevor McCarthy. $165,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0,
$227,520. *1/2 to Yorkton (Speightstown), MGSW-Can,
GSP-USA, $546,332; 1/2 to Nipigon (Niigon), MSP, $384,329.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
2–Crowded Trade, 118, c, 3, More Than Ready–Maude S, by
Jump Start. ($185,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Forging Oaks LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $60,000.
3–Highly Motivated, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–Strong Incentive,
by Warrior's Reward. ($240,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $36,000.
Margins: NO, 1 3/4, 3. Odds: 46.75, 5.40, 0.95.
Also Ran: Freedom Fighter, The Reds, Capo Kane, Wipe the Slate, Atlantic Road.
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:
American Pharoah, Classic Empire, Cairo Prince, Social Inclusion, Thousand Words, and now Weyburn: not too many years have gone by recently without a major contender on the Derby trail by Pioneerof the Nile. The former WinStar stallion, who died unexpectedly two years ago this month at 13, has 35 black-type winners, including 15 graded, in his eight crops to race. The Empire Maker stallion's last full crop of 2-year-olds will race this year. Weyburn is a half-brother to MGSW and new Crestwood stallion Yorkton (Speightstown), as well as to Canadian MSP Nipigon (Niigon), with dam Sunday Affair last producing a live foal in 2019, a filly named Indy Champagne (Curlin). Sunday Affair, an unraced A.P. Indy mare who sold for $800,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, is out of a daughter of Sunday Silence from a four-year stint for her granddam, MGISW and Grade I stakes producer Maplejinsky, in Japan. The female family is one of the deepest in the North American stud book, with Maplejinsky's descendants including champion Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom {Fr}), as well as GISWs Take of Ekati (Tale of the Cat), Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold), Point of Entry (Dynaformer), and Pine Island (Arch), and her immediate ancestors including the wonderful and prolific line of “Beauty” mares: Gold Beauty (Mr. Prospector), Stick to Beauty (Illustrious), and Hail to Beauty (Hail to Reason).

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