June, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Runhappy’s Happy Soul Dominates Astoria S.

Happy Soul was hammered down to 1-9 favoritism off a dominant graduation at this oval and ran to the money with another devastating performance in the Astoria S. at Belmont Friday. Shooting out to a clear lead, the Wesley Ward trainee zipped through a :21.92 opening quarter with no looming threats. Turning for home alone as the half went in :45.74, the bay poured it on in the lane to win for fun by eight lengths in 1:05.69. Constitution Gal (Constitution) was the runner-up. Second to her male stablemate Nakatomi (Firing Line) on debut in the slop at Keeneland Apr. 14, Happy Soul made a mockery of a five-panel event against her own sex here May 13, earning her diploma by 11 1/2 lengths.

“I was a little apprehensive to run her here, we entered with caution,” said trainer Wesley Ward. “If she drew the one hole or something, we may have opted out. But looking at the field, I thought it would be a good place to get a stakes win and increase the value for the owner. She hadn't had a race from her last race to this race, which I wasn't that concerned about. She was galloping beautifully.”

As for what's next, the conditioner said, “She'll get back to Keeneland and prepare for the GII Adirondack [S. Aug. 8] at Saratoga.”

“She fell asleep in the gate. She wasn't paying attention,” pilot John Velazquez said. “I had to use her coming out of there, which normally I don't want to do with [Wesley Ward's] horses because they go so fast, but I had to do it. Once I got out of there, I got into the position she wants. I just let her take her speed wherever she wanted to go. I was just worried a little bit out of the gate. I just put her on her game and let them chase her.”

Happy Soul is the second black-type winner for second-crop sire Runhappy. Cowgirl Lucky's only produce since the winner is a 2021 colt by Good Magic. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

ASTORIA S., $144,000, Belmont, 6-3, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:05.69, ft.
1–HAPPY SOUL, 122, f, 2, by Runhappy
                1st Dam: Cowgirl Lucky, by Stephen Got Even
                2nd Dam: Energise, by Woodman
                3rd Dam: De La Devil, by Devil's Bag
($50,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Gayla
Rankin; B-Harris Training Center, LLC (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward;
J-John R. Velazquez. $87,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0,
$148,500. *1/2 to Calgary Caper (El Corredor), GSW, $335,895.
2–Constitution Gal, 120, f, 2, Constitution–Spring Island, by
Spring At Last. ($45,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $195,000 2yo '21
OBSMAR). O-Gary Barber; B-Ledgelands, LLC (Shelley Ritter) &
Andrew C Ritter & Constitution Syndicate (KY); T-Mark Casse.
$30,000.
3–She's So Shiny, 120, f, 2, Capo Bastone–Sky Ay Ay Ay, by Sky
Mesa. O-Marc Ricker; B-Davaadorj Purevragchaa (KY);
T-Alberta Davies. $15,000.
Margins: 11HF, 1 1/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 0.15, 8.70, 14.50.
Also Ran: American Bound, Midsummer Nights. Scratched: Mainstay.

The post Runhappy’s Happy Soul Dominates Astoria S. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Change Of Control Splits Horses To Capture Intercontinental

Struggling to find racing room around the far turn, Colby Hernandez managed to guide 7-5 second choice Change of Control to a small seam between horses and was rewarded with a drawing away victory in Thursday's Grade 3, $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont Park. It was the first graded stakes win for the 5-year-old daughter of Fed Biz, trained by Michelle Lovell on behalf of owner Perry Harrison.

Change of Control ran seven furlongs over the “good” turf in 1:22.07, defeating Piedi Bianchi by 1 1/2 lengths on the wire.

“This mare has been incredibly special to us,” Lovell said. “She tries so hard every time she runs and has been in top form this year. Colby [Hernandez] got her into a great spot early and she was able to relax behind the pace. Into the stretch, it looked like Colby had a ton of horse and when she was able to get outside, she really showed her stride late. This is a great win for everyone involved.”

I'llhandalthecash was quickest out of the gate to lead by just over a length down the backstretch, with Piedi Bianchi hovering on the outside in second through fractions of :23.64 and :49.40. Change of Control stayed on the inside in third, while favored Publication broke a step slowly and was last early.

Change of Control was shuffled back a bit around the far turn, behind a three-way battle for the lead, but the eventual winner was loaded for bear and hunting room to run.

Hernandez finally saw the seam between rivals and swung Change of Control toward the outside. Change of Control responded gamely and dug in toward the wire, pulling away to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Piedi Bianchi. Madeline Must ran third over I'llhandalthecash, with 6-5 favorite Publication finishing fifth and last.

“When she broke, she broke sharply,” said Hernandez, who was celebrating his first graded stakes win. “She left there well, and I had to get on her a little bit. After that, I was just able to sit on her. All I needed was daylight and she kicked on.”

Bred in Kentucky by John O' Meara, Change of Control is out of the stakes-placed Quiet American mare America's Blossom. A $95,000 yearling at OBS, Change of Control has accumulated a record of 7-6-5 from 27 starts with earnings of over $550,000.

The post Change Of Control Splits Horses To Capture Intercontinental appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Neolithic Filly Fastest At Second OBS June Under Tack Session

Hip No. 344, Platinum Beauty, a gray or roan filly by Neolithic consigned by Rolling Meadows Farm, Inc., worked three eighths in :32 4/5 to post the fastest work at the distance at the second session of the Under Tack Show for Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2021 June Sale of 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age. Out of stakes winner Frost Princess, by Waquoit, she's a half sister to stakes placed Gran Greyfrost.

Hip No. 258, a daughter of Practical Joke consigned by Top Line Sales LLC Agent, turned in the session's fastest quarter, clocked in :21 1/5. The chestnut filly is out of stakes placed Devious d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro, a half sister to graded stakes winner Devious Intent.

Six youngsters worked quarters in :21 2/5.

Hip No. 204, a dark bay or brown filly by Connect consigned by Coastal Equine LLC (Jesse Hoppel), Agent, is out of C J's Gal, by Awesome Again, a daughter of graded stakes placed C J's Leelee.
Hip No. 283, Theregoesmydream, a chestnut filly by Social Inclusion consigned by Silvestre Chavez Thoroughbreds, Agent, is out of Eclipticalsrosette, by Storm Wolf, a daughter of stakes placed Sophisticated Sis.
Hip No. 296, Aztec, consigned by Journeyman Bloodstock Services, Inc. (Brent & Crystal Fernung), Agent, is a bay colt by Khozan out of Ephyra, by Corinthian, a half sister to graded stakes placed stakes winner Leonides.
Hip No. 324, a bay colt by Unified consigned by Fast Horses, is out of Flatter You, by Flatter, a half sister to Grade 1-placed Ma Can Do It.
Hip No. 328, a bay filly by Twirling Candy consigned by Halcyon Hammock Farm, Agent, is out of Folksy, by Midway Road, a half sister to stakes winner Supermason.
Hip No. 337, consigned by Victory Stable, is a gray or roan filly by Keen Ice out of Form Fitting, by Tapit, a daughter of stakes winner Fashion Girl.

Eight horses shared honors for the fastest eighth, stopping the timer in :10 flat.

Hip No. 242, a bay colt by Gone Astray consigned by Two Oaks Equine, is a half brother to stakes winning OBS graduate Diadura out of stakes winning OBS graduate Daytime Promise, by Five Star Day.
Hip No. 255, a dark bay or brown filly by Pioneerof the Nile consigned by Hidden Brook, Agent, is out of Desert Illusion, by Sky Mesa, a half sister to grade one stakes winner Dream Dancing.
Hip No. 313, Tap in Tune, consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, is a dark bay or brown filly by Macleans Music out of Fashion Tap, by Tapit, a daughter of graded stakes winner First Passage.
Hip No. 315, Speightful Sis, a dark bay or brown filly by Country Day consigned by Silvestre Chavez Thoroughbreds, Agent, is out of Fay Ro's Sis, by Pioneerof the Nile, from the family of champion OBS graduate Riker.
Hip No. 319, a bay colt by Quality Road consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, is a half brother to stakes placed Burger and Fries (FR) out of Figarie, by Bernardini, a daughter of champion Flanders.
Hip No. 339, consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent, is a chestnut filly by Palace out of Foxy Posse, by Posse, from the family of graded stakes placed stakes winning OBS June graduate Qahira.
Hip No. 345, also consigned by de Meric Sales, is a gray or roan filly by Street Sense out of Froyo Star, by Rockport Harbor, a half sister to Grade 1 winner Sweet Reason.
Hip No. 363, a dark bay or brown filly by Uncaptured consigned by Blas Perez Stables, Agent, is out of Goldenlegacy'shope, by Warrior's Reward, from the family of grade one stakes winner Cape Blanco (IRE).

Hip No. 271, Icy Storm, galloped through the stretch today, a winner at first asking in a maiden special weight test at Indiana Grand on May 3. The dark bay or brown colt, consigned by Silvestre Chavez Thoroughbreds, Agent, is out of Downton My Lady, by Pioneerof the Nile, from the family of graded stakes winner Sovereign Kitty.

The Under Tack Show continues Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. with Hip No.'s 371 – 554 scheduled to breeze.

To view the full under-tack show results, click here.

The post Neolithic Filly Fastest At Second OBS June Under Tack Session appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Irad Ortiz, Jr. Transported To Hospital After Belmont Spill

Reigning champion jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. was placed on a flat board and transported to a hospital via ambulance following a spill in Thursday's fifth race at Belmont Park, according to NYRA analyst and former champion jockey Richard Migliore.

Ortiz's mount, Equal Pay, stumbled in the stretch and unseated the rider in the path of oncoming horses.

On the America's Day At The Races broadcast, Migliore said that after the race, both Jose Ortiz and Junior Alvarado “ran back up above the eighth pole to check on his condition and when (Jose) came back he said was he was moving everything, he's talking, did have some cuts and contusions because he was clipped by one of the trailing horses.… his brother seemed relieved that he was talking and moving everything. It's always a huge concern when a rider goes down, particularly when they are in the path of oncoming horses.”

NYRA's public relations man Keith McCalmont Tweeted that Ortiz is “awake and alert, moving all extremities, and will be transported to local hospital for further evaluation.”

Ortiz is named to ride in nine races on Friday and in all 13 races on Saturday's Belmont Stakes card, including Known Agenda for Todd Pletcher in the Belmont.

This story will be updated when more information is available.

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