July, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Iowa Derby Winner Stilleto Boy Headed to California After Bringing $420,000 At Fasig-Tipton July Sale

Ten days after stunning the Iowa Derby as the longest-priced horse on the board, Stilleto Boy hammered for $420,000 on Monday at the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, with Del Mar as his next destination.

Steve Moger was the winning bidder on the 3-year-old Shackleford gelding, placing just one bid over Fasig-Tipton's online platform to secure the horse. His brother, Ed Moger Jr. will train the horse.

“Del Mar has the 'Ship and Win' program, and I figured I'd give it a shot,” Steve Moger said. “He'll be going up against some nice horses out there, so we'll see what happens.”

Del Mar's “Ship and Win” program incentivizes horses that race at the Southern California track for the first time after previously running out of state with a $4,000 starter's bonus for their debut start. Eligible horses can also receive a 50 percent bonus on purse earnings throughout the remainder of the meet for starts on the dirt, and a 40 percent bonus for turf races.

Stilleto Boy came into the sale with a record of two wins in seven starts for earnings of $249,675, only missing the board once to date. He raced as a Kentucky homebred for John and Iveta Kerber, with trainer Doug Anderson joining a racing partnership that also included Michael Coleman and Aaron Kennedy.

The gelding has been based in the middle of the country throughout his career, racing once as a juvenile at Prairie Meadows in a runner-up effort. He was then moved to Oaklawn Park, where he finished third or better in a trio of maiden special weight races before graduating in his final start of the season at the track.

Stilleto Boy then returned to Prairie Meadows for the summer, where he finished fourth in the Prairie Mile Stakes on June 4.

That effort helped him leave the gate in the July 2 Iowa Derby at odds of 16-to-1, the highest price of the six-horse field. He led at every point of call in the 1 1/16-mile race, and drew off under jockey Jose Ortiz to win by 4 1/2 lengths.

Stilleto Boy is out of the winning Marquetry mare Rosie's Ransom, whose nine foals to race are all winners, including stakes winner Rosie My Rosie and Condo Closing.

Paramount Sales consigned Stilleto Boy, as agent.

The post Iowa Derby Winner Stilleto Boy Headed to California After Bringing $420,000 At Fasig-Tipton July Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Monmouth Stewards To Meet With Jockey Carlos Montalvo

Doug Hatten, the agent for Monmouth-based jockey Carlos Montalvo, confirmed that the track stewards have informed his rider that he should be in attendance for a hearing Friday in which he will be asked to explain why he went to the whip aboard race winner M I Six (Mission Impazible) in the first race Sunday. On the far turn, Montalvo clearly struck his horse, which was noted in the footnote of the chart for the race, which read: (M I Six) had the rider go to the whip three times.” At 28-1, the 4-year-old won the race.

The stewards may also want to talk to jockey Carlos E. Lopez. Aboard Venezuelan Talent (Outwork), who resorted to whipping his horse in the stretch while battling Emirates Affair (Handsome Mike) in Sunday's seventh race. Venezuelan Talent finished second.

The two examples of jockeys using the whip on the same day came after six weeks of the meet has been concluded without incident. Anyone using the whip, which is no longer allowed to be used to encourage a horse in New Jersey, can be subject to a five-day suspension and a $500 fine for the first offense, but the stewards, entering Sunday, had had no reason to suspend or fine any jockeys.

Under the controversial new whipping rules in New Jersey, a rider can use the whip only if he or she feels it is necessary for safety reasons. M I Six was bearing out on the turn, and Hatten said Montalvo did in fact use the whip only because he thought the horse's antics had put him in a dangerous situation.

“The horse Sunday, the horse is a terribly mannered horse,” Hatten said. “They could barely get him into the paddock. The outrider had to bring him into the paddock. He cleared his way through the tunnel and was the first horse out on the track. He was throwing his head and throwing his body all over the place. Then we found out afterwards all the things this horse has done. He broke [jockey] Isaac Castillo's nose last year. He was sent to a trainer at Parx and was there less than a week. The trainer called them up and said you have to take this horse back to the farm because he was going to kill someone.

“The horse was getting out and Carlos said he felt that he needed to hit this horse. In a split second, he could have gone from the four or six-path to the outside fence. He felt this horse was dangerous and that his health was in jeopardy. I have no idea what the stewards will do. We will see on Friday.”

As for Lopez, who could not be reached for comment, he was riding in his first-ever race at Monmouth aboard Venezuelan Talent. That raises the possibility that he may not have known about the new whipping rules. Prior to his one ride at Monmouth, he had accepted six mounts at Pimlico.

The post Monmouth Stewards To Meet With Jockey Carlos Montalvo appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Australian Trainer Blames Caffeine Positive On Coffee Spill

Australian trainer Nick Smart has blamed a coffee spill for one of his horses testing positive for caffeine, reports racing.com.

Smart trainee Mr Coyne was found to have the prohibited substance in his system after running second in the Ecycle Solutions BM120 Steeplechase at Ballarat on Aug. 23 last year.

“It was a real mystery to us. When we looked into it, and it sounds silly, but our coffee set-up is right near the feed room,” Smart said. “It was right at the feed door with the coffee and everyone used to make their coffee every day. So I put it down to someone has spilt something in a bucket and it went like that.”

The Victoria Racing Tribunal has not yet set a date for Smart's case.

Champion Essential Quality To Target Saratoga’s Jim Dandy On July 31

Champion juvenile and this year's Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality is expected to make his next start in the Grade 3 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 31, reports the Daily Racing Form. The 3-year-old son of Tapit had his first work at Saratoga on Saturday, July 10, breezing a half mile over the main track in a steady 50.44 seconds.

“For his first move over the track, I thought it went well,” trainer Brad Cox told DRF. “He broke off slowly. I had 13-and-2 for his first eighth, and picked it up a little down the lane. It was good for him by himself. He's pretty easy on himself, he doesn't overdo it and never has. It was very similar to his first work back, by himself, after the Belmont at Churchill. I thought he skipped over the track well. He's super happy. He was rearing up after his bath, making me think I should have done a little more with him.”

Cox hopes to use the Jim Dandy as a springboard to the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Aug. 28 at the Spa. Essential Quality, only defeated once in his career when fourth after a troubled trip in the Kentucky Derby, could face the top three finishers from the Ohio Derby (Masqueparade, King Fury, and Keepmeinmind), Weyburn, Risk Taking, and one of trainer Todd Pletcher's top 3-year-olds in the Jim Dandy.