May, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gam’s Mission Gives Trainer Cherie DeVaux First Graded Victory In Regret

Carrying jockey Adam Beschizza and the yellow and black silks of Lazy F Ranch made famous by Hall of Fame gelding Forego in the 1970s, Gam's Mission rallied down the middle of the Churchill Downs turf course in Louisville, Ky., to win Saturday's Grade 3 Regret Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. The win gave Cherie DeVaux her initial graded stakes victory since taking out her trainer's license in 2018.

A daughter of the Galileo stallion Noble Mission (a full brother to Frankel), Gam's Mission covered 1 1/8 miles on good turf in 1:51.02, winning by three-quarters of a length. Spanish Loveaffair, the 7-5 favorite, finished second after battling on the front end with Postnup for much of the race. Flown finished third, with Oyster Box fourth in the field of eight, followed by Barista, Munnyfor Ro, Line Dancing and Postnup. Saranya scratched.

Gam's Mission raced in fifth early after being bumped at the start by Postnup, who veered outwardly from the number six post position and then raced to the front to secure an early advantage over Spanish Loveaffair. Postnup went the opening quarter mile in :24.55 and the half in :49.56 under pressure from the favorite, who put Postnup away after six furlongs in 1:14.27.

Beschizza swung Gam's Mission out for a clear run at the top of the stretch, battled with Spanish Loveaffair and Flown inside the eighth pole after a mile in 1:38.90, then gradually edged away approaching the wire. Flown was beaten just a head for second.

The win was the third consecutive triumph for Gam's Mission, whose only defeat came at the hands of eventual G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Aunt Pearl in a Sept. 1, 2020, maiden race at Churchill Downs. She won her 2021 debut in a maiden race at Fair Grounds on March 21, then came back for an allowance victory at Churchill on May 8.

Gam's Mission was produced from the War Pass mare, Auntie Martha, a Lazy F Ranch homebred presumably named after Martha Gerry, who campaigned three-time Horse of the Year Forego and was honored as an Exemplar of Racing at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., just prior to her death in 2007. Gerry was the aunt of William S. Farish, who stood Noble Mission at his Lane's End prior to the horse's export to Japan.

Cornelia Corbett, the daughter of Martha Gerry, continues to race a handful of horses in the name of Lazy F Ranch. Her son, Rick, is a partner in Gam's Mission, the first horse he bought into, according to Bill Farish, son of the Lane's End owner.

Cherie DeVaux, right, in the winner's circle with husband David Ingordo and jockey Adam Beschizza following the Regret

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Summertime Oaks: McPeek Hoping For Cleaner Trip For Crazy Beautiful

Kenny McPeek, who captured the 2020 Santa Anita Oaks with that year's Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver, seeks another Oaks victory at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., on Sunday in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks with Crazy Beautiful, who, like Swiss Skydiver, will be ridden by Mike Smith.

Crazy Beautiful, a gray daughter of Liam's Map, is coming off a disappointing but eventful 10th-place finish against 12 rivals in the G1 Kentucky Oaks on April 30, when she was seriously impeded at the start.

“It was a pretty good case of bumper cars,” McPeek said by phone from Churchill Downs. “She got kind of mangled leaving there and again in the middle of the race. It seemed like nothing went right.

“Obviously, there will be a lot less traffic on Sunday (with five horses going 1 1/16 miles) than her last race. She's a classy filly who's already won a Grade 2 (the Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 27, prior to the Kentucky Oaks), so we felt like this was a good spot for her. We're excited to hopefully getting her back to her winning ways.”

With McPeek busy back east with the likes of Swiss Skydiver, who runs in the G1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park on June 5, Crazy Beautiful is being cared for at Santa Anita by trainer Karen Headley.

“Bruce (Karen's late father) and Karen are longtime friends,” McPeek said. “I've shipped into their barns for years. She'll saddle her and handle all the details.”

Bruce Headley was a charismatic and colorful trainer whose most accomplished runner was Kona Gold, Eclipse Award champion sprinter of 2000. He set a six-furlong track record of 1:07.77 that year winning the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs.

“The old man was a great guy,” McPeek said. “I always had a lot of respect for him as a horseperson.”

The Summertime Oaks is race eight of nine with a 1 p.m. first post time: Lady Aces, Umberto Rispoli, 4-1; Crazy Beautiful, Mike Smith, 6-5; $4,000 supplemental entry Plum Sexy, Abel Cedillo, 20-1; Soothsay, Flavien Prat, 4-5; and Absolute Scenes, Trevor McCarthy, 50-1.

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Big Clash At ParisLongchamp

Sunday's G1 Prix d'Ispahan at ParisLongchamp sees two of France's big names Skalleti (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) and The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) go head-to-head over the unique intermediate trip of nine furlongs 55 yards. While Skalleti has yet to strike at this exalted level despite holding the enviable tally of seven group-race wins, his compatriot has won one of the most prestigious of them all in Ascot's G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. in October. Disappointing so far this term, Al Asayl France's The Revenant could have been forgiven for his return third to Wally (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G3 Prix Edmond Blanc at Saint-Cloud Apr. 3 but there is no denying that he was below-par when subsequently fourth in the G2 Prix du Muguet over the same course and distance at the start of the month. Contrastingly, Skalleti has continued on his relentless quest to garner as many of his nation's pattern races as he can manage and comes here on the back of a defeat of the subsequent impressive G1 Prix Ganay winner Mare Australis (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in this venue's 10-furlong G2 Prix d'Harcourt Apr. 11.

Skalleti's trainer Jerome Reynier already has his eye on going one better than last year's second in the G1 Qipco Champion S. and said, “We felt running him in the Ganay a few weeks after the d'Harcourt was probably too much, so we've been kind on him and decided we'd go straight to the d'Ispahan with a bit of freshness. The distance is on the short side and the ground will be on the firm side for him, but we can't really expect much softer ground at this time of the year. The race that would have been best for him is the [G1] Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, but logistically it was impossible to travel the horse to Ireland with the staff and everything, so we decided we'd stay at home and we're hoping for the best on Sunday. His target for 2021 is definitely the Champion Stakes–we'll try to get our revenge on Addeybb.”

Francis-Henri Graffard said of The Revenant, “He's in good shape. Nine furlongs is a step up in trip for him and hopefully it does not dry too much–I hope the ground will not be too firm for him. The softer the better for him, so we'll see. He's in very good form and very happy. The [G1] Queen Anne [at Royal Ascot June 15] is an option if the ground is suitable.”

Away from the main pair, TDN Rising Star Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal) is impossible to rule out of the equation given that he is a G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner who was set some stiff tasks in 2020. Third on his comeback in the Muguet, Godolphin's classy performer could benefit from the step up from a mile but will certainly strip fitter for his reintroduction according to the operation's Lisa-Jane Graffard. “Victor Ludorum very much needed his run in the Prix du Muguet and came on for his first appearance of the year,” she said. “It's not impossible that he may need this run as well and could improve again for it. He won the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on soft ground, but we feel that a horse with his turn of foot is better suited to quicker conditions as he showed in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. If the ground is holding, it could be a slight question mark for him, but he is in good form.”

Interestingly, the Muguet winner Duhail (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) is asked to race under a penalty dropping back for the seven-furlong G3 Prix du Palais-Royal on the same card. Apparently G1 Sussex S.-bound, Al Shaqab Racing's improving 5-year-old has shown abundant speed in the past and will have no problem with this shorter trip. A taller order will be whether the Andre Fabre trainee can give four pounds to Jean-Claude Seroul's Marianafoot (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) who is on a streak having made Chantilly's Listed Prix Servanne his fourth straight win and fifth in his last six over six furlongs last time Apr. 26. Duhail also has seven pounds to concede to Rashit Shaykhutdinov's 2020 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches runner-up Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was last seen winning over this course and distance in the Listed Prix de Saint-Cyr in October.

Dusseldorf host the G2 German 1000 Guineas, where Godolphin's Sky Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) bids to take the prize back to France for the Henri-Alex Pantall stable. Runner-up in the G3 Prix Imprudence over seven furlongs on her return at Deauville Apr. 8, she was fourth tackling this mile in the Listed Prix des Lilas at Chantilly May 11. “Sky Angel ran very well in the Prix Imprudence and her latest performance looks another good effort, with the winner that day having previously beaten this year's Pouliches scorer Coeursamba,” Godolphin's Lisa-Jane Graffard commented. Of the home team, Gestut Auenquelle's Reine d'Amour (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) is a key protagonist on her success in Baden-Baden's G3 Zukunftsrennen in September and defeat of Gestut Brummerhof's Libre (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the course-and-distance Listed Henkel-Stutenpreis May 8. Others in the mix are the May 2 G3 Karin Baronin von Ullmann Schwarzgold-Rennen one-two Belcarra (Ire) (Estidhkaar {Ire}) and Wismar (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}). The G2 Grosser Aengevelt Immobilien-Preis Badener Meile sees the return of Sabine Goldberg's unbeaten G3 Prix Perth scorer Jin Jin (Ire) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) as she encounters last year's German 1000 Guineas heroine Lancade (GB) (Areion {Ger}) and co.

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After Hair Test Drug Discoveries, Only Three Runners Contest Quarter Horse Futurity At Sam Houston

Friday night's $731,650 finals of the Sam Houston Futurity for 2-year-old Quarter Horses saw its field of 10 reduced to just three runners following the revelation that the prohibited drugs clenbuterol or albuterol were detected in hair samples in six entrants and two other test samples were considered inconclusive.

Juan Diaz Jr. trained the top two finishers in the race, Bh Inxs and Hock It To You, while Roberto Madrigal trained the third-place finisher, Lucky Dice.

Officials at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, announced on Thursday, a day after the Paulick Report first reported the hair test findings, that the Futurity would be contested as a non-wagering event.

Apollitical Crystal, the fastest qualifier, was listed on the Equibase chart as a “trainer” scratch, while three other finalists trained by Adrian Huitron (El Gansito, Dr Toola and Coronas Candy Man) were listed as “veterinarian” scratches. The other “veterinarian” scratches were Mr de Capi (trained by Angel Sanchez), Hes Tempting Gl (Jose Garcia) and Dealalicious (Rodolfo Sanchez).

On Thursday, Sam Houston officials released the following statement:

The Texas Racing Commission (TxRC) performed two separate testing methods on the qualifiers for the Sam Houston Futurity.

· Post-race Blood and Urine samples on the qualifying nights (May 7 and May 8)

· Hair Test samples on May 15th

Throughout this time period, all qualifiers were required to remain on Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP) property until the conclusion of the finals. TxRC staff notified SHRP that all post-race samples were negative for the ten qualifying participants prior to entry day on May 21 for the Sam Houston Futurity Finals.

On Wednesday, May 26, TxRC staff informed Sam Houston Race Park of the following results from the hair testing performed on May 15:

· Six (6) positive results for either Clenbuterol and or Albuterol (both prohibited in Texas)

· Two (2) results were deemed inconclusive

· Two (2) results were negative

A second hair sample was taken on May 26 of those horses who tested positive or inconclusive.

Based on this information, and to protect the interest of the wagering public, Sam Houston Race Park will conduct the running of this race as a NON-WAGERING event and those Sam Houston Futurity participants will compete for purse money only.

Effective immediately and until further notice, Sam Houston Race Park will stop accepting future entries from those trainers whose horses tested positive. Entries have already been accepted through Thursday, June 3, 2021.

Sam Houston Race Park reserves the right to issue further disciplinary actions against the trainers of these horses, pending actions of the Texas Racing Commission, including the results of second hair test samples if applicable.

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