Robin Goodfellow’s racing tips: Best bets for Thursday, June 24
Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips for Thursday's meetings at Hamilton, Nottingham, Newcastle, Leicester and Newmarket.
Month: June 2021
Liam Treadwell: Jockey remembered at Worcester a year after his death
Liam Treadwell is remembered at a special raceday to honour the Grand National-winning jockey on the anniversary of his death.
Long-Time Assistant Juan Cano Takes Over Late Mentor Angel Montano’s Stable
Juan Cano might not be a familiar name to Ellis Park racing enthusiasts, but he should be a familiar face.
The 31-date RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park begins this Sunday and concludes Saturday Sept. 4. Racing is Friday, Saturday and Sundays, plus Thursday July 1. First post is 12:50 p.m. Central.
Cano, a married father of three (with a fourth on the way), was trainer Angel Montano Sr.'s longtime exercise rider and assistant. With health issues sidelining Montano in recent years, Cano largely ran the Louisville-based stable and was the one making the trip to Ellis Park to run its horses, including for six wins last summer. After Montano died Oct. 1 on his 80th birthday, Cano took over as trainer.
Outside the gaping absence of the Montano patriarch, Cano said not much has changed with the operation.
“I've been at Ellis Park for a lot of years. It's just a new name as the trainer,” he said at Churchill Downs. “I still have horses for Angel's kids. Joey comes out almost every day.”
The barn's trademark colors with the royal blue background and gold angel wings remain. Montano's seven sons and daughters gave Cano their dad's equipment and golf cart, saving the young trainer tens of thousands of dollars. The Montanos, their spouses and friends continue to help populate the barn, including the recent formation of Angel Wings LLC.
“Angel intended for him to take over,” said son Joe, who long has been involved in the stable and has helped Cano navigate the considerable paperwork, payroll and taxes any trainer encounters. “We've been a team together for 10 years anyways, so it just continued on.
“Juan has a couple of clients he picked up; people are interested in what he's doing. He works hard, takes good care of the horses and gives them a lot of attention. He's looking forward to a good summer.”
Cano has doubled the “six or seven” horses with which he started, including several he claimed for himself. The stable has three wins, a second and five thirds out of 19 starts at Churchill Downs' spring meet, with three days remaining. One of those wins came at 44-1 odds with Super Sol in a May 31 allowance race.
“I've had a good meet,” said Cano, who turns 36 on June 24. “Churchill Downs is a little tough to win a race. I got a little lucky this meet. I've got a couple of horses I think will do good at Ellis Park.”
Montano, a four-time meet leader at Ellis Park, paid forward his success in America with his generosity and mentorship of Cano and other young Hispanics at the track. Montano arrived from Mexico at age 17 on a Greyhound bus with a fourth-grade education, $100, six sandwiches and three words of English. He worked his way into becoming one of the very few thoroughbred trainers in Kentucky in the 1950s and '60s whose native language was Spanish, then stamped himself among the state's winningest stables in the 1970s. A trainer for 60 years, Montano was the dean of the Kentucky horsemen at the time of his death. His last wins came at Ellis Park last summer.
“With Juan, given the timing, I think Angel thought he was going to be one who could take the next step,” said Joe, a licensed assistant trainer whose full-time job is with Ford's Material Planning and Logistics team. “He turned a lot of responsibility over to Juan in the last year or so. They thought the same as far as caring and training horses, and Angel taught Juan a lot of things as far as galloping, working, how a horse feels and getting one ready to go long or short.
“Juan took a lot of what Angel taught him and incorporated it with what he learned working for other people. The family felt Juan was going to be the one to take over. It was easy for us to give him all of Angel's equipment. We knew Angel wanted him to have it. He was part of our family and still is.”
Cano grew up riding horses and cows in his native Guatemala before coming to Kentucky. He started out as a hotwalker and then groom for several trainers before pursuing a position as an exercise rider in Ocala, Fla. Upon returning to Kentucky, trainer Rick Hiles suggested Cano speak with Montano about a job. The trainer watched him gallop one horse and gave Cano a salaried job. It was the start of a 12-year relationship during which the elder Montano offered constant encouragement and assistance.
“He helped me a lot,” Cano said, adding in reference to getting the long hair off a horse's body, “One time they needed someone to clip a horse. Angel said, 'Juan, can you clip the horse?' I said, 'I don't know how, but I'll try.' I went out and bought clippers like you use for people. I clipped one. It took all day, and it looked like a cartoon. Wrong kind of clippers. Angel said, 'Juan! What are you doing?' And he went and bought me a pair of clippers for horses. After that, I clipped horses for all kinds of trainers.
“Angel gave me a chance to claim a horse. I claimed one for $5,000 and he won for $7,500. I got really lucky with my first horse. It was a three-horse field. The horse was claimed off me, but I made money off him and claimed another one. I used to always have one horse, then two. While working for Angel, I would groom and gallop my horses and do all my other work.”
In addition to the added training responsibilities, Cano continues to get on most, if not all, of his horses in morning training.
“It's not easy to run a stable, but I'm happy to do it,” he said. “All the Montano kids have helped me. Every time they come to the barn, they say, 'Keep doing what you're doing.' Miguel said, 'My daddy is happy for you.' I'm working hard. On race day, when I run a horse, I basically live with the horse all day in the barn.”
Horse owner Peter Patel, who claimed two fillies for Cano to train, said he likes knowing that the trainer sees and touches his horses every day.
“He's working hard, that's the main thing” Patel said. “I always loved small trainers. I like to help them out. He's doing wonderful, and I hope he does well. He's hands-on.”
The post Long-Time Assistant Juan Cano Takes Over Late Mentor Angel Montano’s Stable appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Talented Filly Always Carina To Make Stakes Debut In Mother Goose
Three Chimneys Farm homebred Always Carina, trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, will make her stakes debut in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose, a 1 1/16-miles test for sophomore fillies at Belmont Park.
Undefeated in two starts, Always Carina debuted with a four-length score in a key six-furlong maiden special weight on a muddy main track at Aqueduct Racetrack in April and followed with a widening 9 3/4-length score in a one-turn mile optional-claiming event at Belmont on May 20.
“It's a super race,” said Doug Cauthen, vice chairman of Three Chimneys Farm. “I think it's a good stepping stone as far as distance and now we'll see if she can handle the step up in class because it's clearly going to be a challenging race. We think she has talent and she deserves the chance to be in there.”
The well-bred daughter of Malibu Moon is a half-sister to the 2019 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor, who is also campaigned by Brown. She is out of the More Than Ready mare Miss Always Ready, who is a full-sister to 2010 Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf champ More Than Real.
“The dam was a really attractive and athletic filly purchased at the Keeneland April 2-year-old sale and showed quite a bit of talent, but had an injury that ended her career,” said Cauthen. “But whenever these well-bred good-looking fillies show talent, even if you don't get the black type, I've seen – and continue to see – a lot of success from those types of mares.
“She was bred to a Three Chimneys stallion and had great success with a Grade 1-winner in the first crop of Palace Malice,” added Cauthen. “The mare just keeps throwing very nice foals. Always Carina showed a lot of promise but had a setback and didn't get to run at two, but so far she's shown the talent we thought she had.”
Cauthen said Always Carina likely gets her main track talent from her sire, although her dam did run sixth in the 2014 Grade 3 Tempted on the Big A main track for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
“Todd thought enough of the mother to run her in the Tempted and although she didn't place, she showed talent on turf and dirt,” said Cauthen. “Obviously, with Malibu Moon, you see a lot of dirt. She very much looks like a Malibu Moon type physically and I wouldn't say he dominated the breeding, because the mare put some great genetics into it, but physically I think the sire is why she's handling the dirt.”
Cauthen said Miss Always Ready has produced three more fillies following Always Carina.
“She has a 2-year-old by Palace Malice, a nice yearling by Gun Runner and another full to Structor baby,” said Cauthen. “The 2-year-old had some issues and she may just be retained as a broodmare. The other two are in good order and will hopefully make the races.”
Cauthen said he is hopeful of a good result on Saturday as Always Carina steps up in class to face an experienced group that includes the graded-stakes winning Clairiere for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
“Whenever they put a graded stakes up in New York, you know it's going to be tough,” said Cauthen. “We have had high hopes for her for a long time but this will be the acid test to see what she's made of. Steve's filly, among others, will be very tough in there with a lot more seasoning.”
Flavien Prat has the call aboard Always Carina from post 2.
Stonestreet Stables' homebred Clairiere, by Curlin, is out of the multiple Grade 1-winner Cavorting. Clairiere made her first four starts at 1 1/16-miles, capturing the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra in February at Fair Grounds at third asking.
Following a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks, Clairiere finished fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks when stretched out to nine furlongs on April 30 at Churchill Downs.
Irad Ortiz, Jr. picks up the mount from post 3.
Reiko and Michael Baum's Illiogami, trained by Rusty Arnold, will look to stay undefeated in 2021 as she steps into stakes company for the first time following a pair of late-closing wins at the Mother Goose distance.
A $400,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, the Kentucky-bred Tapit gray is out of the multiple Group 1-winning Falco mare Odeliz. Illiogami graduated at fourth asking with a head score at Keeneland on April 2 and followed with a 1 1/4-length win in an optional-claiming tilt on April 30 at Churchill Downs.
Arnold said the filly is at her best when she can sit and make one run.
“At Keeneland, she didn't get away good. We didn't think she'd be that far back, but she just got in a tangle and didn't get away,” said Arnold. “At Churchill, it was more what we were hoping for. We weren't going to rush her out of there and she gained momentum as she came on. We're really excited about her.”
Julien Leparoux retains the mount from post 5.
Gary Barber's Make Mischief, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, is the most experienced contender in the field with a record of 11-4-3-2 and purse earnings of $350,750.
Bred in New York by Avanti Stable, the Into Mischief bay completed the exacta in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and Grade 2 Adirondack at Saratoga last summer. Make Mischief launched her sophomore campaign with four starts at the Big A, including wins in an optional-claiming event in January, the Maddie May in February and an allowance tilt in March.
In her most recent two efforts, Make Mischief has completed the trifecta in the Grade 2 Eight Belles in April at Churchill and the Grade 1 Acorn in June on the Belmont Stakes undercard.
Eric Cancel, aboard for the Maddie May and allowance score at Aqueduct, returns to the irons from the inside post.
Shadwell Stable homebred Zaajel will look to make amends after a pair of off-the-board efforts.
Zaajel captured the Grade 3 Forward Gal at second asking in January at Gulfstream Park, but faltered to sixth in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks in March. Last out, Zaajel failed to fire when last-of-7 in her turf debut in the Grade 2 Edgewood on April 30 at Churchill.
By Street Sense and out of the Daaher mare Asiya, Zaajel is a half-sister to her multiple graded stakes placed stablemate Ajaaweed.
Joel Rosario will pilot Zaajel from post 4.
The Mother Goose is carded as Race 8 on Saturday's 10-race program. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.
The post Talented Filly Always Carina To Make Stakes Debut In Mother Goose appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
