June, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Chub Wagon Best In Shine Again At Pimlico

Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut's undefeated Chub Wagon passed her biggest test to date with flying colors, reeling in multiple stakes-winning pacesetter Hello Beautiful through the stretch and surging late for a thrilling half-length victory in Sunday's $100,000 Shine Again Stakes at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 13th running of the six-furlong Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and up, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, was the fourth of five stakes worth $475,000 in purses on a 10-race program.

Followed by the $100,000 Stormy Blues to cap the card, the Shine Again was preceded by the $100,000 Searching Stakes and $100,000 Prince George's County Stakes on turf and $75,000 Ben's Cat Stakes. The Stormy Blues for 3-year-old fillies and Ben's Cat for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up were both moved from the grass to the main track and remained at five furlongs.

Sent off the 1-2 favorite in a field of eight that included Anna's Bandit, Dontletsweetfoolya, Hello Beautiful and Never Enough Time – winners of 34 career races, 20 of them in stakes – Chub Wagon improved to 7-0 lifetime with her third consecutive stakes win and second in a row at Pimlico following the May 15 Skipat Stakes on the undercard of the 146th Grade 1 Preakness Stakes.

The winning time was 1:10.21 over a fast main track.

“She's a very, very, very classy horse. She does everything easy,” winning trainer Guadalupe Preciado said. “When she came back, she looked like she wasn't even blowing. She's does everything so good.”

Breaking from the rail under Jomar Torres, now aboard for five of her wins including her first stakes triumph in the April 27 Unique Bella Stakes at Parx, Chub Wagon was outrun for the lead by Hello Beautiful, making her first start since finishing off the board in the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Stakes Feb. 20 at Laurel Park.

The opening quarter-mile went in :22.21 with Chub Wagon rated in second, flanked to her outside by Dontletsweetfoolya as Hello Beautiful led the way. She was still in front midway around the turn after going a half in :45.32, with Chub Wagon looming after putting away Dontletsweetfoolya. Once straightened for home, the top two began to separate from the pack.

“I told [Torres] it looked like [Hello Beautiful] was the speed. I said, 'I'd like to be outside of her. We had a bad position on the inside but if she wants to go, let her go, and go from there.' Last time she closed nice, and today she closed again. The filly she beat is a nice filly.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. was up in the Skipat, the first time Chub Wagon didn't lead from start to finish in any of her races. She won the six-furlong Skipat by two lengths, which had been her shortest margin of victory until Sunday.

“She ran great today. I sat off the pace today because she was going great, but the other horse had more speed. So I waited, and, when I went to the clear, she picked it up very well. She loves to fight,” Torres said. “She's a really nice filly.”

Hello Beautiful stubbornly dug in under Sheldon Russell into deep stretch, but grudgingly gave way approaching the wire. It was another three lengths back to 59-1 long shot Paisley Singing in third, followed by Never Enough Time, Anna's Bandit, Lucre, Unique Factor, and Dontletsweetfoolya.

A 7-year-old mare with 17 wins, 11 stakes, and more than $782,000 in purse earnings from 36 previous starts, Anna's Bandit was also coming off a layoff, not having run since last summer at Delaware Park.

“She ran huge. It's disappointing to get beat, but it's nice to see her come back and run her eyeballs out,” Hello Beautiful's trainer Brittany Russell said. “You kind of had to take it to [Chub Wagon] a little bit. You don't want to let her get away and then we're sitting there saying, 'Why didn't we go?' I was happy with how it ended up; I just wish we were on the other end of the result. She's not one to fold. She's had a couple excuses along the way. It's nice to see she ran hard.”

A 4-year-old Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Hey Chub that gave Parx Hall of Famer Precaido his 2,000th career win with her debut victory last fall, Chub Wagon is being considered for the $350,000 Grade 2 Princess Rooney Stakes July 3 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. The seven-furlong Princess Rooney is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar Race Track in Del Mar, Calif.

“If everything goes good, I think we're going to the Princess Rooney,” Preciado said. “Every time she runs, the races come harder and harder. For me, that's the way to do it. I don't want to come out of nowhere and face tough horses and later you have nothing. You go slowly and sometimes the horses like it. Next time probably is going to be tougher.”

The Shine Again Stakes returned to the Maryland stakes calendar after being a casualty of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and was being contested at Pimlico for the first time since 2013, having each of its last four runnings at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

It honors Allaire duPont's fourth-generation Maryland homebred mare that retired in 2003 after winning 14 of 34 starts, seven stakes, and nearly $1.3 million in purses. Trained by late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, she won back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes in 2001 and 2002 and was second in 2003.

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The Week in Review: Attorney Vienna’s Take on Baffert-Betamethasone Case

Having practiced law for more than 25 years, attorney Darrell Vienna has pretty much seen all there is to see when it comes to equine law, drug infractions, penalties and how racing commissions and courts interpret the rules. A former trainer based in California, he is renowned as one of the foremost experts in his field. So when it comes to the case of Medina Spirit (Protonico) and the positive test for betamethasone following the GI Kentucky Derby, his brain is well worth picking. And Vienna has said that he believes that, when it is all said and done, there may be some good news for the Bob Baffert team and some bad news.

While the case involves dozens of issues, the two that are most pertinent are these: Should Baffert, due to mitigating circumstances, get off without receiving a fine or suspension; and what are the chances that the courts or the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, due to those same mitigating factors, will rule that the Derby result should stand with Medina Spirit being declared the official winner?

The lawyers representing Baffert and owner Amr Zedan have been presenting the case that the drug got into Medina Spirit's system not through an injection, but the through the application of a topical ointment use to treat a skin problem. That, they argue, would mean that the medication inadvertently got into the horse's system and that there was no attempt to use it as a performance-enhancer. They have asked a court to rule that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission must turn over a portion of the remaining post-race urine sample so that it can be sent for further testing to determine if in fact the betamethasone came from the ointment, Otomax.

“It appears to me that the argument [from the Medina Spirit legal team] is going to be twofold,” Vienna said. “Yes, there was a positive. But their interpretation of the rules is that if it wasn't injected and, instead was applied, that it wasn't a violation of the rules.”

Is that relevant? Quite possibly, yes. Kentucky's racing regulations cover just that sort of situation. The rule reads: “The stewards, judges, and the commission shall consider any mitigating or aggravating circumstances properly presented when assessing penalties pursuant to this administrative regulation.”

That could mean, Vienna said, that Baffert will not be subject to a fine or suspension.

“Let's assume that everything we have heard is correct and it was a result of the administration of a topical ointment,” Vienna said. “Then I think the adjudicator, whether it's the stewards or a hearing officer, will take those facts into account and make a determination as to whether or not they constituted mitigation and if so what is the extent or weight of that mitigation? Could Baffert leave that hearing without any sanction? Yes.”

Vienna said that a legal precedent was set in the 1994 case of Lavin v. California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), which the court heard after three horses tested positive for scopolamine. A California court ruled that the trainers involved should be exonerated, but the horses were still disqualified, costing their owners the purse money.

The same could happen with Medina Spirit. Though there might have been mitigating circumstances to explain how the drug got in the horse's system, it doesn't appear, Vienna said, that such a finding is relevant when it comes to whether or not a horse should be disqualified for a drug positive.

“If there is a finding of a drug positive in an official post-race sample and if that is confirmed by split sample testing, which is the case in this situation, it would call for a disqualification,” Vienna said. “I don't believe there are any mitigating circumstances involved with that.”

(Full disclosure: Vienna represented owner/trainer Mick Ruis in his efforts to have the Baffert-trained Justify (Scat Daddy) disqualified from his victory in the 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby because he tested positive for scopolamine).

Then there are the bans handed down against Baffert by Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association. For Baffert, the Churchill ban of two years could be particularly damaging because it would mean that he cannot compete in the 2022 and 2023 Kentucky Derby. Baffert's lawyer Craig Robertson has yet to say much about those penalties, but it can only be a matter of time before he tackles that issue. Some believe that a privately owned racetrack has the legal right to ban trainers. Some aren't so sure. So that issue could also ultimately wind up in the courts. Vienna's opinion is that Churchill and NYRA banned Baffert without due process.

“There is a bigger issue [than the betamethasone positive] and it's the exclusion of a trainer,” he said. “The exclusion of a trainer from a racing facility, which has been imposed on Baffert both at Churchill Downs and by the New York Racing Association, is really unfortunate and inappropriate. Mr. Baffert has not had an opportunity to defend himself, to see what the accusation is and to be able to marshal and present evidence in his defense. To exclude him without the barest minimum of due process, that's a big issue. It might be more sexy and juicy to talk about the disqualification of a Derby winner, but this disregard for basic due process is a really big issue and is important. I'm absolutely opposed to that and I think we should all be concerned about the exclusion of a licensed person without due process. It is absolutely improper for him to be excluded from any racetrack before he has had a hearing.”

Vienna will get no disagreement from Robertson, who is a worthy foe for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Baffert and Zedan presumably have deep pockets and don't seem inclined to go down without a fierce fight. That means the case could be tied up in the courts for years. In the meantime, the debate rages on. Is Baffert guilty? Should Medina Spirit be disqualified? As they say, stay tuned.

Rick Porter, a True Credit to the Game

The racing game lost a giant last week when owner Rick Porter passed away at age 80 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Porter represented everything that is good about this sport and racing could use a lot more just like him.

Porter was successful, a class act, a sportsman who truly loved the animal. That's why the breakdown of his Eight Belles in the 2008 Derby was so painful for him, to the point that it almost led him to get out of the business.

Many will remember him for the stars he campaigned, Songbird, Havre de Grace, Kodiak Cowboy, Hard Spun or for the time he brought World War II-D Day veterans to the track to meet Omaha Beach.

But his most lasting contribution to the sport came through his work with the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization (NTWO), a charity he created. That some horses wind up in a slaughterhouse after their days on the track are through obviously troubled him, so he set out to do something about it. Porter dispatched his able assistant Victoria Keith to Louisiana, where the slaughter issue was an on-going problem. Thanks to Porter's effort, the NTWO saved hundreds of horses who otherwise might have been slaughtered. Talk about walking the walk.

Monmouth Handle Roars Back

Because the handle was down significantly over the first two weeks of racing, some surmised that bettors were staying away from Monmouth Park because the jockeys were no longer allowed to whip their horses.

But the story changed significantly during week three. Monmouth put together its best card of the season Saturday. There were 13 races, five of them on the grass, and the average field size was 8.07. It was a quality product and the bettors responded. The handle was $6,180,159. On the corresponding day in 2019 they bet $4,744,905. (Due to the coronavirus, there was no racing on this date in 2020). On Sunday, an 11-race card handled $4,893,374. On the corresponding day in 2019 and on a 12-race card, they handled $3,244,618.

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Valued Notion Wins Stakes Debut In Ben’s Cat

Valued Notion made his stakes debut a memorable one for owner Hillwood Stable LLC and trainer Rodney Jenkins when he led gate-to-wire under jockey Xavier Perez to win the $75,000 Ben's Cat by two lengths over Air Token. Oldies But Goodies checked in third while favored Hemp, who broke slowly, finished fourth.

Valued Notion, a lightly raced 4-year-old gelded son of Great Notion, covered the 5 furlongs in :58.19 over the main track after the races were taken off the turf.

Breaking from post 10, Valued Notion broke out of the gate quickly and was chased from the outside by longshot Xmasinthecity past an opening quarter in :22.22 and a half in :45.47. But entering the stretch, Perez put away Xmasinthecity and held off the remainder of his opponents.

“He was in contention right away. I was just trying to let the 12 [Xmasinthecity] go ahead of me,” Perez said. “I watched a couple of his races and he kind of slowed down at the end. As soon as I put my horse against the bit, he took me to the front and I just cruised. He was doing it so comfortable and I just let him do it himself until we got to the top of the lane.”

Valued Notion, who broke his maiden at third asking in February, followed up that victory with an allowance victory before finishing a tired fourth in his last start April 9.

Bred, owned and trained by Hall of Fame horseman King Leatherbury, Ben's Cat won 32 of 63 career races, 26 stakes, and more than $2.6 million in purses from 2010 to 2017. A four-time Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, Ben's Cat died July 18, 2017 from complications following colic surgery.

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Street Lute Wings To Victory In Stormy Blues

The silks jockey Xavier Perez wore said it all – Lucky 7.

Despite an awkward start while breaking from the outside post, Street Lute won her seventh stakes race when she gamely drove around the field to win Sunday's $100,000 Stormy Blues at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Trained by Jerry Robb and ridden by Xavier Perez, Street Lute covered five furlongs on the main track in :58 for her seventh stakes win and eighth career win in 11 starts.

The 13th running of the Stormy Blues Stakes for 3-year-old fillies capped a 10-race program featuring five stakes worth $475,000 in purses. Both the Stormy Blues and $75,000 Ben's Cat Stakes for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up were moved from the grass to the main track and kept at five furlongs. Horses scratched from the Stormy Blues included two from the barn of Wesley Ward, Wink and Amanzi Yimpilo.

After Street Lute broke awkwardly at the start, Proper Attire, beaten on the turf in the Hilltop Stakes last out, went to the front with Malibu Beauty in pursuit. But as those two entered the turn, Perez began moving Street Lute. Past Beautiful Grace, past Prodigy Doll, Street Lute drove down the center of the stretch gamely passing Malibu Beauty and then Proper Attire for victory number seven.

“To be honest I thought it was kind of over,” said Lucky 7 owner Joey Lloyd. “But when I saw her coming down the final homestretch I knew she has the heart, bigger than this world. My heart was in my throat, but as soon as I saw her coming down the stretch right outside [Proper Attire], I knew she was going to catch her.”

Stormy Blues was one of the top 2-year-old fillies of 1994 whose four wins in six starts that year included the Grade 1 Matron Stakes, Grade 3 Sorority Stakes, and Grade 3 Selima Stakes, the latter at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. Trained by late Hall of Famer Scotty Schulhofer, she finished third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

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