August, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Got Stormy Again Faces Males In Fourstardave; Casse’s Only Concern Is ‘Weather’

Got Stormy used a strong effort in last year's Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave to facilitate a successful initiative that led to a pair of graded stakes wins. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said he's hoping for a similar trajectory this year, as the 6-year-old will compete in Saturday's 37th running of the Fourstardave going one mile on the inner turf course in Race 10.

Got Stormy, owned by MyRacehorse Stable and Spendthrift Farm, has a strong connection to this prestigious turf tilt for 3-year-olds and up. Her sire, Get Stormy, won the race in 2010 and finished third in 2012. In 2019, Got Stormy bested males to win the Fourstardave by 2 1/2 lengths in a course record 1:32 flat, earning a 109 Beyer Speed Figure that is still a personal best in a 29-race career.

Last year, Got Stormy ran second, 1 1/4-lengths back to Halladay, in the race and subsequently won the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Lady Spirit and the Grade 3 Buffalo Trace Franklin County before capping her campaign with a fifth-place effort in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November at Keeneland.

On Saturday, Got Stormy will look to become the first dual Fourstardave winner since two-time Horse of the Year and recent Hall of Fame inductee Wise Dan [2012-13]. She drew post 6 in the eight-horse field.

“I think she's training well and similar to when she ran a big race last year,” said Casse, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame across Union Avenue from the Spa last week. “I was just going over the similarities from one year to the other. She kind of struggled early on and then came here and ran a big race in the Fourstardave. She's happy and she's ready. We just have the same concern we always do about the weather.”

Got Stormy will stretch back out to one mile after running fifth in the six-furlong Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day June 5 on a course rated good. Casse said Got Stormy's preferred track is a firm surface but he added the eight furlongs also should play to her strengths.

“She loves the mile on the inner turf, it's her best [distance] and she likes the sharp turns,” Casse said.

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, aboard for her last seven starts, will have the return call. Got Stormy is 10-1 on the morning line, with 9-5 favorite Raging Bull drawing the inside post and 5-2 Set Piece breaking from post 5.

Casse said both of his runners in last Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test – runner-up Souper Sensational and eighth-place finisher Make Mischief – exited the seven-furlong sprint for sophomores in good order.

Live Oak Plantation's Souper Sensational ran second, 4 1/4-lengths back to much-the-best winner Bella Sofia, to earn a 93 Beyer one race after posting a personal-best 95 number for her 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Victory Ride on July 10 at Belmont. In eight career starts, the Curlin filly has already earned stakes black type at four different tracks [Woodbine, Fair Grounds, Belmont and Saratoga].

“She's doing well. I haven't really decided what I'm going to do with her next,” Casse said.

Gary Barber's Make Mischief has already made eight starts in her 3-year-old campaign and has spent the spring and summer facing top-flight competition, starting with a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Eight Belles in April at Churchill before running third in the Grade 1 Acorn going a one-turn mile on Belmont Stakes Day. Returning to Big Sandy for the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Mother Goose three weeks later, Make Mischief ran fourth before finishing last-of-eight in the Test.

Casse said the daughter of Into Mischief, bred in the Empire State by Avanti Stable, could be targeting the $200,000 Fleet Indian for state-bred 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/8 miles on August 27 at Saratoga.

“Make Mischief will probably go back against New York-breds,” Casse said. “I want to just see how hot it is and how they respond to the heat. But she has quite a resume, so we're very proud of her.”

Casse said John Oxley's Palazzi, who ran seventh in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational in the second leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series on August 7, will now likely run in a stakes at Kentucky Downs next out.

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Equibase Analysis: Armory Poised To Upset Domestic Spending In Mr. D.

This Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Mr. D. Stakes, formerly the Arlington Million, features a strong field of 10 including Domestic Spending (GB), who has reeled off three straight Grade 1 stakes wins, the most recent of which came in the Manhattan Stakes in June at the distance of the Mr. D. Stakes.

Zulu Alpha, who leads the field in career earnings at $2.2 million, makes his second start following 10 months off and hopes to run back to his form of 2020 when winning three of five graded stakes including the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes. Bizzee Channel just won the local prep for this race, the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes and goes for his third win in a row. Then there's Armory (IRE) – from the barn of Aiden O'Brien (who will bring along world class jockey Ryan Moore from across the pond as well) – who finished fourth in the Group 2 York Stakes in his most recent race and who won the Group 2 Hurley Stakes earlier this year.

Two Emmys missed by a head to Bizzee Channel in the Arlington Stakes and could be up to the task, as could Arlington Stakes third-place finisher Another Mystery. Strong Tide finished sixth in the non-graded Johnathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes in his most recent start and similarly Glynn County was fifth in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes around the same time and both appear overmatched in this field. Big Dreaming finished second in the Dueling Grounds Derby last summer and enters the race off an allowance win but is taking a very big step up on class to this grade 1 stakes level. Space Traveler (GB) is another European import. He has never run farther than one mile in his 19-race career and his most recent win came in the non-graded Ganton Stakes in June at a mile.

Armory (IRE) can add to the success European imports have had in Grade 1 races in the U.S. this summer, similar to Bolshoi Ballet winning the Belmont Derby and State of Rest winning the Saratoga Invitational Derby last weekend. Armory (IRE) has won five of 15 career starts, including one at this 10-furlong turf trip and one at the slightly longer distance of one and five-sixteenths miles. After a runner-up effort in the Group 1 Cox Plate in Australia last October, Armory (IRE) took time off to mature and returned as a 4-year-old to win the Hurley Stakes in May, earning a then career-best 118 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure. Next, even when third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes in June at Royal Ascot, Armory (IRE) ran fantastically well when checking in third behind sensational turf star Love, improving his career-best figure to 122. Most recently, Armory finished third in the York Stakes last month, behind another superstar in Bangkok, with a 115 figure effort. Jockey Ryan Moore, who rode the trainer's Bolshoi Ballet to victory in the Belmont Derby earlier this year, comes in from Europe to ride and the only time he rode Armory (IRE) this year was to victory in the Hurley Stakes, which suggests Armory (IRE) is ready to win for the sixth time in his 16th career start and emerge victorious in the Mr. D. Stakes.

Domestic Spending (GB) is the strongest challenger to Armory (IRE) in this race, having earned a 119™ figure when winning the Manhattan Stakes on Belmont Stakes day in June in his most recent start. Now having won four stakes in a row starting with the 2020 Saratoga Derby, Domestic Spending (GB) has proven he loves firing big off short rests, such as when winning the Hollywood Derby last fall and when winning the Turf Classic Stakes in May. Jockey Flavien Prat has been aboard for his last two wins and knows exactly when to tell Domestic Spending (GB) to change gears, just as he did in the Manhattan when going from 11 lengths behind the leader in seventh after a mile, to second with an eighth of a mile to go, before drawing off to win by nearly three lengths. Now possessing a six for seven in his career, if Domestic Spending (GB) runs as expected the likely stretch battle between him and Armory (IRE) may be one for the ages.

Zulu Alpha leads the field with 12 career wins and $2.2 million in earnings. Although more known as a horse who loves to run a mile and one-half, the distance he won the Elkhorn Stakes (116™ figure) last year, Zulu Alpha has won at this 10 furlong trip as well and he has won on the Arlington Park turf course as well, something neither Armory (IRE) or Domestic Spending (GB) can claim. Having been away from the races since last September, Zulu Alpha's fifth-place finish in the Arlington Stakes last month can be viewed as a prep for this race. Having earned a career-best 123 figure in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes last year and a 116 figure in the Elkhorn, there can be little doubt Zulu Alpha can run well enough to win this race.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Another Mystery (113), Big Dreaming (106), Bizzee Channel (111), Glynn County (105), Space Traveller (GB) (112), Strong Tide (115) and Two Emmys (108).

Win contenders:
Armory (IRE)
Domestic Spending (GB)
Zulu Alpha

Mr. D. Stakes – Grade 1
Race 9 at Arlington Park
Saturday August 14 – Post Time 7:13 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Quarter on Turf
Three Year Olds and Upward
Purse: $600,000

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Elmore Named 2021 Jockey and Jeans Man of the Year

Brian Elmore, the Executive Director of the Indiana Horsemen's Protective and Benevolent Association, has been named 2021 Jockeys and Jeans Man of the Year.

Elmore will receive the award at the seventh annual Jockeys and Jeans event at Monmouth Park Sept.11. Seventeen Hall of Fame Jockeys are scheduled to attend and honor seven of their fallen brothers and sisters.

Elmore has long advocated for jockeys. In 2016 he won the Eddie Arcaro Award, presented by the Jockeys' Guild to a person or group that consistently shows exceptional commitment to jockeys and the organization. Now the Indiana HPBA Executive Director, Elmore enlisted the group to donate $30,000 to PDJF over the last few years. He is also the only Jockeys and Jeans Ambassador, not an active or former jockey.

The event begins in Monmouth Park's Turf Club Sept. 11 at 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $75. There will be silent auctions of racing-related memorabilia and autograph sessions throughout the course of the event.

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All Graded Stakes Cross Country Pick 5 Features Races From Saratoga, Arlington

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 encompassing all graded stakes with racing action from historic Saratoga Race Course and Arlington Park on Saturday. The sequence will include four Grade 1 contests and a Grade 2 event.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Juveniles will take centerstage to start it off as a 12-horse field will compete in the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. Eastern. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds will see Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen saddle a pair of talented Winchell Thoroughbred homebreds – and sons of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner – in Gunite and Red Run. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will see if Doctor Jeff, who won a first-out six-furlong sprint at Belmont Park last month, can handle the step up in stakes company, while Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will have two contenders as well with Midnight Worker, who won at Saratoga already in July, and Double Thunder, who won the Bashford Manor last out in June at Churchill Downs.

Action then shifts to Arlington, located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for the Grade 1, $400,000 Beverly D. for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 3/16 miles on the turf in Race 7 at 5:49 p.m. Trainer Chad Brown, a six-time Beverly D.-winner who has won the last five editions of this race, will look to extend his streak by sending out the Irish-bred Lemista, who will look to rebound off an eight-place finish in the Grade 1 Diana on July 17 at Saratoga. Lemista, listed at 5-1 on the morning line, will face a strong seven-horse field that includes 9-5 morning-line favorite Mean Mary for trainer Graham Motion. Santa Barbara, conditioned by renowned international trainer Aidan O'Brien, is 2-1.

Saratoga's featured race, the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave for 3-year-olds and up going one mile on the inner turf, will go off in Race 10 at 6:13 p.m. Brown will have another strong contender in this prestigious turf race as well, with Raging Bull facing an all-graded stakes winning field as he looks to take the next step in a race in which he ran second in 2019 and fifth last year. Brown will be looking for his first career victory in the Fourstardave, which is a “Win And You're In” event for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile on November 6 at Del Mar. Mark Casse, inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, will send out Got Stormy, the winner of the 2019 Fourstardave, and she seeks to become the first dual Fourstardave winner since two-time Horse of the Year and recent Hall of Fame inductee Wise Dan [2012-13].

Arlington will close the sequence with two Grade 1s, starting with the $300,000 Bruce D. for 3-year-olds going one mile on the turf in Race 8 at 6:28 p.m. Trainer Jack Sisterson, who has amassed four Grade 1 wins since 2020, will look to sustain his run by sending out Tango Tango Tango. The race, formerly named the Secretariat, will see Tango Tango Tango, winner of the American Derby at the same track on July 17, face a field that includes Mystic Lake Derby-winner King of Miami and Like a Saltshaker.

Concluding the Cross Country Pick 5 will be the $600,000 Mr. D. for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/4 miles on the turf in Race 9 at 7:13 p.m. Formerly the Arlington Million, the Mr. D. will see the O'Brien-trained Armory, under jockey Ryan Moore, look to parlay strong international efforts into success in North America. Armory was the runner-up in the Group 1 Cox Plate in Australia last year and third in the Group 1 Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot two months ago and fourth last out in the Group 2 York on July 24. Brown will have strong representation in this race as well, with Domestic Spending carrying a four-race winning streak into the weekend. Domestic Spending has won six of seven starts overall.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, August 14:
Leg A: Saratoga – Race 9, G2 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite (5:39 p.m.)
Leg B: Arlington – Race 7, Beverly D. (5:49 p.m.)
Leg C: Saratoga – Race 10, G1 Fourstardave (6:13 p.m.)
Leg D: Arlington – Race 8, Bruce D. (6:28 p.m.)
Leg E: Arlington – Race 9, Mr. D. (7:13 p.m.)

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