April, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Shedaresthedevil an Oaks Day Victress Once Again

You can't keep the Brad Cox barn down for long. One race after previously unbeaten heavy favorite Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) finished a head-scratching fifth in the GII Edgewood S., the Eclipse-winning conditioner sent out last year's GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil to a convincing victory as the chalk.

Three-for-three under the Twin Spires already, Shedaresthedevil was hard ridden to make the lead and was able to slow it down from there to post comfortable splits of :23.99, :47.94 and 1:11.74. They stacked up behind the leader heading for home, and Shedaresthedevil briefly looked like she might get beat–most likely by rail-skimming Envoutante–but she dug deep and found more in midstretch to pull clear again under the line.

“She loves to race at Churchill; she showed it again today,” rider Florent Geroux said. “They made me work hard for this. When we turned for home, she kept her head up and I could tell she was digging in. Those other fillies came to her but she showed a lot of heart and a lot of grit and I knew she wasn't going to let them by.”

Acquired by Flurry Racing Stables for $280,000 out of the 2019 Keeneland November sale off a pair of stakes placings at two, the bay was transferred from Simon Callaghan to Cox with previous co-owner Qatar Racing staying in for a piece. She was second to eventual MGSW stablemate Bonny South (Munnings) in an Oaklawn allowance last February, and annexed that venue's GIII Honeybee S. that March. A well-beaten third behind future champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in the GIII Fantasy S. May 1, she was a six-length optional claiming winner under the Twin Spires the following month before dominating the GIII Indiana Oaks in July.

Let go at 15-1 for the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks, she proved best on the day while beating both Swiss Skydiver and odds-on Gamine (Into Mischief), who would go on to earn an Eclipse herself as champion female sprinter. Given the rest of the season off after a third in Keeneland's GI Juddmonte Spinster S. Oct. 4, Shedaresthedevil bested Letruska (Super Saver) by a head in Oaklawn's Mar. 13 GII Azeri S. That performance was flattered significantly when Letruska returned to down Shedaresthedevil's superstar stablemate Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 17.

“This is huge,” said Cox. “She has been training really well coming up to this. We freshened her up after the Spinster last year. We didn't want to try and chase the [GI] Breeders' Cup Distaff. It was obviously the right move. She's moved forward at four. She's shown that in her two starts. She has a lot of fight and determination down the lane. She showed that again today down the lane. She's now a Grade I winner at four. We'll target the Breeders' Cup Distaff and work our way back from that. There some obvious races in New York and one at Del Mar we are thinking about.”

Friday, Churchill Downs
LA TROIENNE S. PRESENTED BY TWINSPIRES.COM-GI, $500,000, Churchill Downs, 4-30, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:42.69, ft.
1–SHEDARESTHEDEVIL, 123, f, 4, by Daredevil
                1st Dam: Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats
                2nd Dam: Andria's Forest, by Forestry
                3rd Dam: Andriana B., by Far North
($100,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $20,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP;
$280,000 2yo '19 KEENOV). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC, Qatar
Racing Limited and Big Aut Farms; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY);
T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $303,800. Lifetime Record:
13-7-2-3, $1,807,318. *1/2 to Mojovation (Quality Road), GSP,
$196,388. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: B.
2–Envoutante, 118, f, 4, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Enchante (MSP, $153,172), by Bluegrass Cat
2nd Dam: Wear, by Arch
3rd Dam: Abrade, by Mr. Prospector
($250,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC
and Three Chimneys Farm; B-Jumping Jack Racing LLC (KY);
T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $98,000.
3–Finite, 118, f, 4, by Munnings
1st Dam: Remit (MSW, $257,556), by Tapit
2nd Dam: Free Spin, by Olympio
3rd Dam: Spin n Win, by Private Account
($200,000 2yo '19 EASMAY). O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC,
Reiman, Thomas J., Dickson, William and Easter, Deborah A.;
B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
$49,000.
Margins: 1, 2, HF. Odds: 1.70, 3.70, 10.60.
Also Ran: Bajan Girl, Dunbar Road, Paris Lights, Sanenus (Chi).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Shedaresthedevil is one of two Grade I/graded winners for her sire Daredevil with the other being Swiss Skydiver. She is also one of five stakes winners for the young stallion, who was repatriated from Turkey by Lane's End to stand the 2021 seasson. The 4-year-old filly is one of three graded victors and nine black-type scorers out of a daughter of Congrats. She is bred on the same More Then Ready/A.P. Indy Cross as MGSW Hungry Island. The winner's dam Starship Warpspeed is also responsible for a juvenile filly named Blackheartedgypsy (Speightster), purchased for $50,000 at KEESEP by Flurry Racing Stables; a yearling filly by Exaggerator; and an Uncle Mo colt foaled Mar. 26. Shedaresthedevil hails from the family of GSW & MGISP Crafty C.T. (Crafty Prospector).

The post Shedaresthedevil an Oaks Day Victress Once Again appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

High Winds Lead To Suspension Of Pimlico’s Friday Card; Stronach 5 Cancelled

High winds forced the Maryland Jockey Club to suspend live racing following Friday's third race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The Baltimore area is under a high-wind warning through 2 a.m. Saturday with winds at 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.

With Pimlico hosting the first two legs in Races 8 and 9, Friday's weekly national Stronach 5 wager was also cancelled. It is scheduled to return Friday, May 7.

Pimlico will host a nine-race program Saturday with a special 12:15 p.m. post time on Kentucky Derby (G1) day from Churchill Downs.

The post High Winds Lead To Suspension Of Pimlico’s Friday Card; Stronach 5 Cancelled appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jose Santos Revolutionizing Jockey Agent’s Role

Jose Santos became famous for winning races as a jockey. His son wants to become famous for winning races as a jockey agent.

The winning formula for Jose “Joe” Santos Jr. is to try and revolutionize the profession through strength in numbers, eventually creating a corporate-like business model.

Santos, 26, represents five riders at four tracks. The bulky roster briefly reached six earlier this year and included two for most of the Oaklawn meet in David Cabrera, its second-leading rider in 2018 who is headed toward another runner-up finish in 2021, and Ken Tohill, a veteran approaching 4,000 career victories. Tohill won nine races in Hot Springs before recently departing for Prairie Meadows in Iowa. Santos also books mounts for Miguel Mena and Albin Jimenez at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Reylu Gutierrez at Lone Star Park in Texas and Freddy Manrrique at Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma.

“I would say it's abnormal to have a jockey on four or five different circuits,” Santos said.

Under Arkansas rules, agents can represent as many as two journeymen and one apprentice rider during the Oaklawn meeting. Some Oaklawn-based agents do have riders in multiple jurisdictions, with Bobby Dean, for example, representing two-time local champion Terry Thompson and newcomer Elvin Gonzalez this year in Hot Springs and Glenn Corbett at Turf Paradise in Arizona.

But five riders in four states?

“My deal is I worked at Turf Paradise for 15 years,” said Dean, an agent since the fall of 1997. “I mean, I know everybody. I had Glenn Corbett all those years. It's not like I'm down there with a kid somebody might not know. I'm down there with a guy that's been there, so I'm barely skirting the line. (Santos) is sharp enough to do it. But I'm old school. I'm still here early. I guess as the long as the jocks keep going for it, it will be good.”

Santos, whose father retired with more than 4,000 victories and was a 2007 inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, said he has been eying a mass-representation/multi-jurisdiction concept for some time, adding COVID-19 restrictions “kind of forced it,” with everything moving online last spring.

“I wanted to start an agency, myself,” Santos said. “The only way to do that is to prove that is I can do it on my own at first. Once I get enough traction and business going, I think it's been heading in the right direction, we can expand it from there and get some people hired on eventually.”

Santos began his career as an agent in December 2013, initially representing Aldo Canchano, then Didiel Osorio in February 2014. Santos had Cabrera, Israel Rodriguez and apprentice Luis Fuentes to open the 2019 Oaklawn meeting before landing the nationally prominent Mena that spring. Santos essentially flew solo with Mena for approximately a year before adding Declan Carroll in April 2020, reuniting with Cabrera in May 2020, picking up Jimenez in November, Gutierrez and Tohill around New Year's Day and Manrrique for the Will Rogers meet that began in late March. Santos and Mena rekindled their business relationship in April. Santos no longer represents Tohill and Carroll, leaving the agent to juggle just five riders in late April.

“Santos, he's sharp,” Dean said. “If anybody can handle it, it's Santos.”

Santos spent much of early 2020 in Hot Springs (his girlfriend, youthful stakes-winning owner Carson McCord, is a resident), but agents were unable to beat the backside at tracks like Oaklawn, and later Churchill Downs, because of COVID-19 restrictions that barred them from the barn area. The racing office became off limits, too. Armed with a computer, condition books and cell phone, Santos began conducting business from home, entering by phone and watching post position draws through Zoom conference calls, again related to COVID-19 restrictions.

“This is kind of been a goal for a while,” said Santos, who also has represented Eclipse Award-winning apprentice Tyler Baze. “Just didn't know how to make it work. I kind of always thought the only way that it was going to be able to work was to hire other people on, do the charting, and have them do all the ground work. Like I said, with COVID happening, it worked out to where I was able to do it.”

So far, so good.

Santos' riding roster has collected more than 120 victories and $5 million in purse money this year. Agents normally receive around 25 to 30 percent of a jockey's total earnings.

“You work hard when you're young to not have to when you're older, right?” Santos said. “Ultimately, the goal would be to own an agency at some point in my life and have other agents work for me and just get a percent off of that, based off tying up the connections, to where I don't have to do any of this bookwork anymore. But that's years, years, years down the line.”

Santos was profiled by Fox Sports recently.

The post Jose Santos Revolutionizing Jockey Agent’s Role appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Aristoteles Looks to Rebound in Tenno Sho Spring

The G1 Tenno Sho (Spring), first run at Hanshin in 1938, was subsequently moved to Kyoto, but returns to Hanshin for the 2021 renewal as Kyoto undergoes extensive renovation this spring. Among this season's likely favorites, Aristoteles (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) finished runner up behind 2020 Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) in last fall's G1 Kikura Sho (Japanese St. Leger) before taking the 2,200-meter G2 American Jockey Club Cup at Nakayama Jan. 24. Heavily favored in his latest start in the G2 Hanshin Daishoten over 3,000 meters Mar. 21, the 4-year-old finished a distant seventh behind winner Deep Bond (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}).

“One of the keys will be getting him to run with a good rhythm, so these past two weeks the jockey has been working the horse uphill in training, as well as on the woodchip course, and getting good contact and understanding with him,” said trainer Hidetaka Otonashi of Aristoteles. “His last piece of work was a lot quicker. I think if the ground is good on the day of the race, the 3,200 meters won't be a problem, and as I've said, getting into the flow of things will be important, but I'd like him to bounce back to form this time.”

In regards to tactics in this weekend's contest, jockey Christophe Lemaire added, “He's become more mature, especially mentally. He's in top condition right now. The start will be important, and also not losing anything in the run. His footwork is good and, hopefully, he can show this inside the last 500 meters.”

Also likely to gain plenty of support, Deep Bond recorded a pair of credible fourths behind winner Contrail in a pair of group starts last season, including the aforementioned Kikura Sho, but couldn't build on those when posting a forgettable 14th in the 2,000-meter Nakayama Kimpai Jan. 5. The 4-year-old's connections hope his eye-catching five-length win in the Daishoten can get the colt back in the winner's circle Sunday.

“He's always been a big striding horse, but in some of his previous races he's looked a bit slow,” said trainer Ryuji Okubo. “Now though, he's looking a lot faster and lighter, and even in the ground last time, he was impressive.”

The post Aristoteles Looks to Rebound in Tenno Sho Spring appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post