The field for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic begins to take shape in early summer after the Triple Crown races conclude. Over the July 4 holiday weekend, the $6 million race picked up a new prime player coming out of the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park.
Month: July 2021
Gamine Wins Great Lady M Stakes By 10 Lengths
Heavily-favored Gamine added to her glowing resume with a 10-length romp in the $200,000, Grade 2 Great Lady M Stakes Monday – the final day of the Summer Thoroughbred Festival – at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.
The 1-5 choice in the field of five, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief and the Kafwain mare Peggy Jane broke sharply under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, was headed briefly to her inside by 3-1 second choice Edgeway nearing the turn, then took charge from there to win without ever being asked for her best.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for owner Michael Lund Petersen, Gamine is now 8-for-9 with earnings of $1,406,500. Six of her victories have come in graded events.
Gamine paid $2.40 and $2.10 in a race where there was no show wagering. She attracted $248,224 of the $292,855 wagered to place in the Great Lady M, creating a minus place pool of $33,822. She completed the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:14.98.
Bella Vita, the second longest shot in the field at 22-1, edged Road Rager, the longest price on the board at 45-1, by a neck for second. The place price on Bella Vita was $9.
Edgeway and Qahira, who is also trained by Baffert, completed the order of finish. Candura, Dynasty of Her Own and Eyes Open were scratched earlier in the day.
“It was nice to see a lot of people come to the paddock to get a good luck at her,'' said Baffert, who won the Great Lady M for the fourth time after scoring previously with Fantastic Style (2015) and Marley's Freedom (2018-2019).
“That's what great horses do. When she runs I get nervous and I'm more relieved after the race. She looked great and I'm glad she came through.
“She might be able to stretch out. She's getting older and more mature. That's one option I've been thinking about, but I don't know what we'll do next. I want to see how she comes out of this and I'll let her tell me.''
Velazquez, who has been aboard for all of Gamine's graded successes, is now 1-for-1 at Los Alamitos after Monday.
“I know she's quick and the other horse (third-place finisher Road Rager) showed speed and I knew the horse to beat (Edgeway) was inside of me,'' he said. “She relaxed and I let her do her thing around the turn and that was it from there.''
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Yaupon, Mrs. Orb Take MATCH Races At Pimlico; Series Resumes July 31
Yaupon and Mrs. Orb took their respective Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) stakes July 4 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the usually contentious 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division is again shaping up as one to watch
The two MATCH Series stakes joined two other stakes on an 11-race holiday program that generated $10.06 million in pari-mutuel handle that included a mandatory Pick 6 payout wager with a $5.1 million pool and a $1.43 million carryover.
In the $100,000 Lite the Fuse Stakes, the second of six legs in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division this year, Yaupon, owned by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, got back on the winning track after eighth-place finishes in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint in November 2020 and the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in March. The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by Uncle Mo had been training this spring at Churchill Downs and previously had won his first four races, including the Grade 3 Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico in October 2020.
With Ricardo Santana Jr. riding for trainer Steve Asmussen, Yaupon stalked front-running Chateau for about a half-mile before taking over in upper stretch in the six-furlong event. He gradually pulled away to win by 1 3/4 lengths over Laki, who bid between those two on the far turn and ran on well for second. Chateau checked in third.
Yaupon, the heavy favorite, paid $2.80 to win and covered the distance in 1:09.43 on a track rated fast.
”He broke really sharp,” said Santana, who rode Yaupon for the first time. “He came in the race from the layoff and I wanted to give him a little break. He put me in a good position, so I let him take a second deep breath and at the three-eighths pole when my horse felt the other horse, he took off back.”
The other horse was Laki, who rated in third early and made his bid on the far turn. Laki, owned by Hillside Equestrian Meadows and trained by Damon Dilodovico, finished fifth in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Stakes—the first race in the division—but rebounded nicely in the Lite the Fuse.
“He ran really well,” Dilovodico said. “I thought he may be able to get outside down the backstretch because it looked like Yaupon (wasn't gaining on the leader). But there's no shame in running second to him. We're really blessed to have this horse.”
Yaupon and Special Reserve, winner of the Maryland Sprint, each have 10 points to top the division. Maryland-bred Laki now has 9 points thanks to having started in both stakes in the division thus far.
Mrs. Orb, a New York-bred owned by Ruggeri Stable, Richard Coburn, Script R Farm and trainer Mike Miceli, went over the $500,000 mark in earnings in the 1 1/16-mile Caesar's Wish, the second of six legs in the Filly and Mare Long—Dirt division. Ridden by Horacio Karamanos, who also rode Laki, Mrs. Orb rated in fourth through quick fractions before taking over in mid-stretch and holding off a late rally by Trolley Ride. Sweet Sami D. finished an even third.
Mrs. Orb, a 6-year-old mare by Orb, has been a fixture in New York-bred stakes company but last November was second in a Grade 3 stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. She has been first, second or third in 13 of 15 starts.
“She's a tough gal—she's not easy to train, but you don't mind when they can run,” Miceli said. “She's a little temperamental. You pretty much have to cater to her.”
Mrs. Orb, a slight favorite, paid $6.20 to win and covered the distance in 1:44.17 on a track rated fast. She collected 10 MATCH Series points to tie Spice Is Nice at the top of the division.
The 2021 MATCH Series continues July 31 at Pimlico with three stakes in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division, Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division and 3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt division. Undefeated Chub Wagon, owned by George Chestnut and Daniel Lopez, leads the Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division and the overall series with 20 points.
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Unbeaten First Captain Progresses In Dwyer; McGaughey Eyes Travers
Highly-regarded First Captain lived up to his connections' aspirations, tracking a moderate pace along the rail and taking control in mid-stretch to remain undefeated while conquering his first stakes test in Monday's Grade 3, $250,000 Dwyer at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey for owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing and Bobby Flay, First Captain arrived at the one-turn mile for 3-year-olds off a first-level victory against winners at Belmont on May 29.
The talented chestnut posted a sharp debut score by three-quarters of a length over eventual winners Mahaamel and Repo Rocks going seven furlongs over Big Sandy on April 24.
First Captain broke toward the rear of the compact five-horse field while Ridin With Biden was first in command through an opening quarter-mile in 23.47 seconds over the fast main track, 1 ½ lengths clear of Gershwin and Snow House, who battled for second.
Ridin With Biden's lead dwindled through a half-mile in 46.67 as jockey Jose Ortiz started getting busy aboard First Captain, who made a four-wide bid around the far turn.
First Captain confronted the pacesetter just past the eighth-pole en route to a 1 3/4-length score, completing the journey in 1:36.19. Ridin With Biden held second by a half-length over Snow House. Gershwin and Civil War competed the order of finish.
Ortiz, who piloted First Captain in both of his previous efforts, said First Captain improved significantly.
“Last time, he was in the clear most of the time. Today, he was a lot better. He was behind horses and took some dirt,” Ortiz said. “They were running. They went 46 and when I put him in the clear it took me awhile to get into high gear, but when he did it, he used that beautiful stride of his. He went by them as he is supposed to, and he galloped out really well. I think he's going to improve with distance.”
First Captain provided McGaughey with his fourth Dwyer triumph, adding to a list that includes Seeking the Gold [1988], Coronado's Quest [1998] and Code of Honor [2019]. The latter two went on to win their respective year's edition of the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga.
McGaughey said he would consider a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 Runhappy Travers on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course, but also didn't rule out the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 31 – the Spa's local prep for the Mid-Summer Derby.
“We'll take a look at it,” McGaughey said. “I'll see how he comes back and how he is when he gets up there. That would be the best-case scenario. I'm glad to get this one.”
Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds said they initially considered running in his sire's namesake race, the nine-furlong $120,000 Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga, but the opportunity to garner a graded stakes win could not be passed up.
“He's never going to be a horse that just dazzles you, but you can tell he's just starting to get going,” Finley said. “We're very happy with him. We would have loved to have got him a little further in his third start, but it just wasn't to be. We were going back and forth to run in the Curlin, but this spot came up and it was too attractive. Now, I guess we can go to the Jim Dandy or wait for the Travers.”
Now 3-for-3, First Captain banked $137,500 in victory, over doubling his lifetime earnings to $237,500. Going off as the 2-5 favorite, First Captain returned $2.80 for a $2 win bet.
“He was a lot steadier today. I knew he was winning his first two races on ability, but I didn't really know what to think of him,” McGaughey said. “Today, he showed me something, especially that two turns is going to be in the bag, I think. I liked the way he took the dirt; he took it a lot better today than he did the last time. He was a little further back than I thought he would be. But that's why they are what they are. I thought we were in pretty good shape coming up to the quarter-pole.”
Bred in Kentucky by Bobby Flay, First Captain is by multiple-champion producing sire Curlin and out of the graded stakes-winning A.P. Indy broodmare America. He is a direct descendant of influential broodmare Best in Show – a prominent line that includes American classic winners Jazil, Rags to Riches and War of Will, as well as Grade/Group 1 turf winners Peeping Fawn, Denon, Good Journey, Chimes of Freedom, Spinning World, Domedriver, and popular Japanese champion Almond Eye.
First Captain was a $1.5 million acquisition from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Stone Farm.
Live racing resumes on Friday afternoon with a nine-race card. First post is 1 p.m. ET.
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