Month: March 2021

Baffert-Trained Kalypso Headlines Sunday’s Oaks Prep At Santa Anita Park

Bob Baffert's well accomplished Kalypso heads a field of five sophomore fillies going a mile and one sixteenth in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita. Baffert will also be represented by Baoma Corporation's Beautiful Gift as well as Pegram, Watson and Weitman's Heels Up in a race that Baffert has won a record five times.

With 50 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to be awarded to the winner, the Santa Ynez takes on added significance as America's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies looms on April 30 at Churchill Downs. Saturday's second, third and fourth place finishers will receive 20, 15 and five points respectively.

Third, beaten 1 ¾ lengths by Kalypso in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes here on Feb. 6, trainer Michael McCarthy's Moraz will likely go as the second choice in the Santa Ysabel, which will be her fourth career start. A recent mile and one sixteenth maiden winner at Golden Gate Fields, McCarthy's A Real Hero will be a longshot with Flavien Prat aboard.

Owned by David Bernsen, LLC and Rockingham Ranch, Kalyspo, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Brody's Cause, out of the Malibu Moon mare Malibu Cove, broke her maiden going six furlongs four starts back in the ungraded Anoakia Stakes on Oct. 18 and then showed the way prior to running second, beaten 1 ½ lengths going 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos Dec. 5.

Off at 4-5 in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes going seven furlongs on Jan. 3, Kalypso pressed the pace and prevailed by 1 ¾ lengths. Subsequently second as the even money favorite going one mile in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes on Feb. 6, she was no match for Richard Mandella's Moonlight d'Oro, who rallied powerfully through the lane to prevail by 1 ½ lengths.

Although second twice at two turns, Kalypso, who will be making her seventh start, retains the services of Joel Rosario and is strictly the horse to beat on Sunday.

Owned by her breeder, Don Alberto Corporation, Moraz, who was a dazzling 11 length maiden winner going a flat mile two starts back on Jan. 8, kept to her task in the Las Virgenes when beaten 1 ¾ lengths by the top selection and her connections are hoping she has enough upside to turn the tables.

By Empire Maker out of the A.P. Indy mare Malvinia, Moraz will be making her fourth start and be handled by regular rider Umberto Rispoli.

Bet down to 3-5 as she stretched out to a flat mile in her second start on Oct. 23, Baoma Corporation's homebred Beautiful Gift stalked the early pace and rallied gamely for a half length win. By Medaglia d'Oro out of the A.P. Indy mare Sea Gift, Beautiful Gift also appears to have ample upside and will be ridden for the first time by John Velazquez.

Baffert's Heels Up, who has been idle since running third in the 6 ½ furlongs Dezi Arnaz Stakes Nov. 14 at Del Mar, will be stretching out for the first time in what will be her fourth start. Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Heels Up, a daughter of Twirling Candy out of the Tale of the Cat mare Tale Untold, will likely be forwardly placed under Drayden Van Dyke, who will be aboard for the first time.

THE GRADE 3 SANTA YSABEL WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 4 of 9 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

  1. A Real Hero—Flavien Prat—120
  2. Beautiful Gift—John Velazquez—120
  3. Heels Up—Drayden Van Dyke—120
  4. Kalypso—Joel Rosario—120
  5. Moraz—Umberto Rispoli—120

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m. All of Santa Anita's races are offered free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can wager at 1st.com/bet. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Retired Preakness Runner Hemingway’s Key Remains in Good Company

Fifteen years ago, the chestnut Thoroughbred colt Hemingway's Key was keeping some impressive company.

Racing under the silks of Kinsman Stable and trained by Hall of Fame horseman Nick Zito, Hemingway's Key spent the winter of 2006 on the Triple Crown trail competing against the top 3-year-olds in the country, such as Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Barbaro, Preakness (G1) winner Bernardini, Belmont (G1) winner Jazil and Grade 1 winners Corinthian, Flashy Bull and First Samurai.

After finishing third in the Preakness and that summer's Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga, Hemingway's Key raced into his 5-year-old season before retiring to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) in Lowell, FL in August of 2008. Hemingway's Key has been a favorite at the TRF's Second Chances Program at the Lowell Correctional Facility.

But now the 18-year-old son of Notebook is taking on another role by being selected as one of four horses to work on the just-announced TRF initiative with Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice aimed at using retired Thoroughbreds to help at-risk youths.

The TRF's Second Chances Juvenile Program will give at-risk juveniles a chance to learn hands-on training in animal skills and life skills that they can use once released.

Hemingway's Key has been a favorite with the women at the Lowell Correctional Institution.

“He's a nice horse and he's probably the horse my students ride the most,” said John Evans, farm manager at Lowell. “He's really sound and is a great saddle horse.”

For more information on the TRF go to trfinc.org.

For information on Beyond the Wire, an industry initiative between the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, the Maryland Jockey Club, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland jockeys, go to beyondthewire.org.

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Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Pair Of Turf Races, Four Tracks

A maiden special weight event at Santa Anita Park featuring the Baffert Stable's 3-year-old colt Fenway and two turf races from Gulfstream Park highlight this week's popular Stronach 5.

Friday's Stronach 5 will also feature races from Laurel Park and Golden Gate Fields along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout.

The opening leg of the Stronach 5 will begin at 3:55 ET with Laurel's eighth race, a 5 ½ furlong allowance event for 4-year-olds and up. Kingston Pike (4-1) enters off a three-length victory against claiming company while Josef Is Real (9-2) enters off a second-place finish against allowance company. Bourbon Street (6-1) goes first time off the claim for trainer Anthony Farrior.

Gulfstream's seventh race, a mile turf event for 3-year-old filly with a $35,000 claiming tag, serves as the second leg of the Stronach 5 and Celestial Cheetah is the 9-5 favorite. The daughter of Social Inclusion won her 3-year-old debut by 6 ¼ lengths after finishing sixth Dec. 5 in the Demoiselle (G2).

The third race at Santa Anita – the third leg of the Stronach 5 – is a mile maiden special weight event for 3-year-old colts. Trainer Bob Baffert will send out Fenway, a $650,000 son of Into Mischief who finished second Feb. 15. John Velazquez has been named to ride. Trainer Mike Puype has the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Harbored Memories, a homebred son of Harbor the Gold who comes off a pair of second-place finishes at Santa Anita. Flavien Prat has the call. Hronis Racing LLC's Star Sailor, a $275,000 son of Union Rags, enters the event for trainer John Sadler off a third-place finish, two lengths behind Fenway. Baffert will also send out Hudson Ridge, a son of American Pharoah who finished sixth in his debut Feb. 5.

The action moves to Golden Gate for its third race and the fourth leg of the sequence. The $8,000 maiden claiming event at 5 ½ furlongs has a 5-2 favorite in Mattawa N That. The gelded son of Eddington has finished second in his previous two starts for trainer Blaine Wright. Breaking from the rail is Flash of Gray, fifth in his debut Feb 13.

The Stronach 5 concludes with Gulfstream's ninth race, an allowance optional claimer at a mile on the turf. Witez will race for the first time since a fifth-place finish in the Mrs. Revere (G3) at Churchill Downs Nov. 14 and a fourth-place finish in the Valley View (G3) at Keeneland Oct. 16. Over the summer the 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready finished third in the Lake George (G3) at Saratoga. Kissing Frogs is the race favorite. Trained by Bill Mott, the lightly-raced daughter of Cairo Prince is undefeated in her only two turf races.

Friday's races and sequence

  • Leg One – Laurel Park 8th Race: (13 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 3:55 ET, 12:55 PT
  • Leg Two – Gulfstream Park 7th Race: (7 entries, 1-mile turf) 4:12 ET, 1:12 PT
  • Leg Three –Santa Anita Park 3rd Race: (8 entries, 1 mile) 4:35 ET, 1:35 PT
  • Leg Four –Golden Gate Fields 3rd Race: (8 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:53 ET, 1:53 PT
  • Leg Five –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: (10 entries, 1-mile turf) 5:16 ET, 2:16 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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Protestors Lying On Track Delay Golden Gate Card, Shut Down Vaccination Site

A group of four protestors lying on the track in a “sleeping dragon” maneuver caused officials to push back the start of Thursday's card at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif. Races were scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Pacific, and have not begun as of 3:45 p.m. The track feed indicates that the afternoon's first race has been canceled, while races two through seven are delayed until further notice.

The actions also caused a 2 1/2-hour shutdown of the COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted at Golden Gate.

The protestors were joined by a group of about a dozen others demonstrating outside the track, and belong to a group called Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), which has been live streaming the goings-on on their Facebook page.

Spokesperson Cassie King, appearing on the live feed, said DXE was spurred to action by the deaths of three horses during a recent four-week period.

According to a press release issued by the organization, the four on-track protestors are Omar Aicardi, Rachel Ziegler, Rocky Chau and Jamie Crom. They are connected by heavily-weighted PVC pipes in a direct action maneuver called a “sleeping dragon.” They also lit purple smoke flares while in place.

“These beautiful animals live lives of exploitation and abuse for the sake of profit, then they're killed for the same reason,” said Chau. “The public is increasingly aware of the reality of this barbaric industry, and is demanding that we leave it in the past.”

At about 1:30 p.m., security personnel could be seen on the track hovering over the protestors, but didn't take any action against them. An hour later, a tent was placed on the track to shade the protestors.

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