September, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Brown To Saddle Pocket Square, Miss Teheran In Saturday’s Athenia Stakes

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Pocket Square and Miss Teheran in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

Brown has won four of the last five runnings of the Athenia and has totaled five wins overall, including scores by Pianist [2013], Roca Rojo [2016], Off Limits [2017], Rymska [2018] and Tapit Today [2020].

Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square, a 4-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, enters from a 4 1/2-length optional-claiming win traveling nine furlongs on the Saratoga Race Course turf on Aug. 25.

A Group 3-winner as a juvenile in France for trainer Roger Charlton, Pocket Square posted a debut win for Brown in a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland allowance tilt in April. She followed with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Grade 1 company in the one-mile Longines Just a Game in June at Belmont and the nine-furlong Diana in August at Saratoga.

“We had very high hopes for her coming out of the allowance win at Keeneland and we tried her in some ambitious spots. She has always trained well,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “She came back into form at Saratoga and hopefully that gave her confidence. She's made a good appearance at Belmont this fall.”

Doubledown Stables' Miss Teheran, a 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Teofilo, captured a one-mile optional-claimer on the Saratoga turf on August 1 and rallied to finish second last out in the 1 1/16-mile Miss Liberty on August 28 at Monmouth Park. The late-running chestnut boasts a record of 13-4-4-1 with purse earnings of $199,372.

“She had a little bit of a trip and came with a nice late kick, but didn't quite get the job done. She gave a good account of herself and we were pleased with her effort,” Stupp said of the Miss Liberty try. “Obviously, we would have liked to have won but she showed up off her allowance win at Saratoga and gave another good effort.”

Miss Teheran has breezed back twice at Belmont since the Miss Liberty, including a half-mile effort in 50.05 Saturday on the Belmont main track.

“She's had a couple maintenance works and seems to be doing well,” Stupp said. “She's a very honest filly and tries every time. She's a one-run late filly – save a little ground, get a little cover and then get out and make her run.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call aboard Pocket Square from post 4, while Manny Franco will guide Miss Teheran from post 2.

Godolphin homebred Lake Lucerne, a 4-year-old Dubawi bay, enters from a narrow nose score in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event on September 1 at the Spa.

Out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Awesome Again mare Round Pond, Lake Lucerne launched her career in England with trainer John Gosden which included a maiden score in March 2020 at Chelmsford.

Transferred to the care of trainer Brendan Walsh, Lake Lucerne rallied to finish fourth in her North American debut in February at Gulfstream Park and followed with a 3 1/4-length allowance score in May traveling 1 1/16-miles on the Churchill Downs turf.

Jose Lezcano has the call from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are Group 2-placed Made In Italy [post 3, Junior Alvarado] for trainer Graham Motion and two-time winner Stand for the Flag [post 5, Dylan Davis] for conditioner Rob Atras. Spice Is Nice is entered for the main-track only.

The Athenia is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up slated for Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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‘Enthusiastic’ Life Is Good To Use Kelso As Prep For Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's dual graded stakes winning sophomore Life Is Good will attempt to make his second start off a layoff a winning one when taking on older horses for the first time in Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso for 3-year-olds and upward going a one-turn mile at Belmont Park.

Life Is Good, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, arrives at the Kelso off a sharp runner-up effort to Jackie's Warrior in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course. The son of leading sire Into Mischief posted swift fractions in the seven-furlong event before engaging in a dramatic stretch duel with Jackie's Warrior, which saw Life Is Good miss by a neck.

Life Is Good entered the H. Allen Jerkens off a six-month layoff from wins at Santa Anita Park over eventual Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit in both the Grade 3 Sham on Jan. 2 and the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 6 for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Life Is Good breezed a half-mile in 48.46 on the Belmont dirt training track on Sept. 22.

“He ran a giant race off the layoff and has trained well since then,” said Pletcher, whose previous Kelso coups came with Uncle Mo [2011], Graydar [2013] and Anchor Down [2016]. “He's an enthusiastic horse to train. In both works he was well in hand, especially in his last breeze. He kind of fools you watching him. He doesn't look like he's going that fast, but then he gallops out in 1:25 and change.”

Pletcher credited his team as well as the crew at WinStar Farm for an excellent job preparing Life Is Good for his Saratoga return.

“Everyone did a great job bringing him back,” Pletcher said. “He did a lot of training at Keeneland and trained extremely well at Saratoga. He's just a very talented horse so I was not surprised he had run so well off the bench. It was an ambitious goal to run in a Grade 1, but he's a very talented horse and ran terrific. He came out of it well and has continued to train great.”

Pletcher said a solid effort from Life Is Good on Saturday would likely result in a trip to Del Mar for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on November 6.

“Right now we're thinking about the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Obviously, we need to run here and assess how he does, but that's what we're thinking at the moment,” Pletcher said. “He certainly trains like a horse that's capable of running further and hopefully that's the case down the road.”

Life Is Good brags a record of 4-3-1-0 and field-best earnings of $374,200.
Bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West Stable, Life Is Good is out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who piloted Vyjack to victory in the 2014 Kelso, will climb aboard Life Is Good for the first time from post 2.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It arrives off a third-place finish to talented sprinters Yaupon and Firenze Fire in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Forego on August 28 at Saratoga.

The Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained son of Currency Swap made his first start outside his native Florida in the Forego, where he rated a close third to the inside of the top two finishers, dropped to fifth around the far turn, but re-established position to complete the trifecta.

Chance It, who boasts a consistent 10-4-4-1 record, was a close second in his previous two starts this season and will be in pursuit of his first victory since capturing the Mucho Macho Man in January 2020 at Gulfstream Park.

Manny Franco has the call from post 3.

Trin-Brook Stables' Informative will attempt another graded stakes upset for trainer Uriah St. Lewis. The 4-year-old son of Bodemeister lit up the Monmouth Park tote board when capturing the Grade 3 Salvator Mile on June 12, where he went off at 79-1 odds.

Informative, who boasts two wins in five starts at the Kelso distance, will go back to one mile following unplaced efforts in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban in July at Belmont Park and the nine-furlong Grade 2 Charles Town Classic on August 27.

Eric Cancel will have the call from post 4.

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Flying P Stable will look to add to their string of recent upset stakes wins on the NYRA circuit when sending out last-out winner Fort Peck for trainer Robertino Diodoro. Flying P Stable's Locally Owned posted an 18-1 upset over the Diodoro-trained Lone Rock [co-owned by Flying P Stable] in Saturday's Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational at Belmont and Fort Peck will look to continue the trend this weekend.

A 6-year-old son of Fort Larned, Fort Peck was triumphant in his debut for Diodoro when scoring for a $50,000 tag on August 7 at Saratoga.

Ramon Vazquez will ride from post 1.

Completing the field is Three Diamonds Farm's Doubly Blessed, who will try to make amends following a distant seventh in the Forego. The son of Empire Maker will make his third start over Big Sandy following a close second to Locally Owned in an April optional claiming tilt at 1 1/16-miles, followed by a victory at the same distance in May.

Hall of Famer and four-time Kelso winning jockey Javier Castellano will ride from post 5 for trainer Mike Maker.

The Kelso is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia for fillies and mares going nine furlongs over the inner turf in Race 10. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

The Kelso honors the legendary five-time Horse of the Year [1960-64] who triumphed in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in each of those years. Campaigned by Allaire du Pont's Bohemia Stable and trained by Carl Hanford, Kelso's illustrious career saw the gifted dark bay defeat more champion horses than any other thoroughbred, including Jaipur, Carry Back, Roman Brother and Bald Eagle. Kelso, who was ranked No. 4 on the Top 100 Greatest North American Thoroughbreds of the 20th Century, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.

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Yates Hoping To Honor Gil Campbell’s Memory In Saturday’s FSS In Reality

Trainer Michael Yates can't think of a more fitting way to honor the memory of Gil Campbell than to saddle Cajun's Magic for a victory in Saturday's $400,000 In Reality at Gulfstream Park.

“We'd love to win it in his honor, that's for sure,” Yates said.

Campbell, the prominent Florida breeder/owner who passed away Sept. 16 at the age of 91, and his widow, Marilyn, have had a long, long history of success in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, having been represented by 16 race winners in the lucrative series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.

Cajun's Magic, a homebred son of Cajun Breeze who campaigns for the Campbells' Stonehedge LLC racing stable, kicked off the 2021 FSS series with a victory over Dean Delivers, his Stonehedge LLC stablemate, in the $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream July 31 to give his highly respected and influential owners/breeders No. 16.

“He's gutsy; he's a trier; he's a game horse,” Yates said. “He's a very nice, solid horse.”

Cajun's Magic showed grit in his May 29 debut, in which he vied for pacesetting honors while racing between horses and fought back after losing the lead to finish just a half-length behind heavily favored Of a Revolution at five furlongs. He came right back to graduate by 4 ¾ lengths at 5 ½ furlongs before capturing the six-furlong Dr. Fager, in which he rated early before challenging Dean Delivers and prevailing from a stretch-long battle to win by a neck.

In the $200,000 Affirmed, the seven-furlong second leg of the FSS series, Cajun's Magic made a three-wide drive into contention but had to settle for a second-place finish, 3 ¼ lengths behind pacesetter Octane.

Cajun's Magic will face the two-turn test Saturday in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality, which will co-headline Saturday's Gulfstream Park program with the $400,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile FSS finale for fillies.

“It's a question for all of them. None of them have run that far yet,” Yates said. “He's been training well. He's had some nice, long, swift gallops, and I think he'll be ready.”

Jesus Rios has the call aboard Cajun's Magic, who will try to turn the tables on Arindel's homebred Octane.

The Affirmed victor will seek his third straight victory following a second-place finish in his June 14 debut at five furlongs. The son of Brethren overcame adversity to graduate in his second start at Gulfstream July 17, when he became fractious and unseated his rider before loading into the starting gate but went on to win by 1 ¾ lengths despite being checked leaving the backstretch. The Carlos David-trained Florida-bred did everything right in the Affirmed, in which he broke alertly from his rail post position to lead the way throughout the seven-furlong sprint.

“He came out of that race in really good shape,” David said. “He had to run his eyeballs out in that race. I gave him four days of walking. He's been able to have two breezes with no problems. So far, so good.”

Octane is expected to once again be a forward factor as he attempts to carry his speed around two turns in the In Reality.

“It will definitely be a challenge. It's his first time around two turns. So far, he has done everything right. I know he has tactical speed. We're not going to take that away from him,” David said.

Emisael Jaramillo has the return mount aboard Octane.

Arindel has also entered homebreds The Skipper Too, Clapton and Globes, all Juan Alvarado-trained sons of Brethren, in the In Reality. The Skipper Too graduated in his fifth career start Aug. 22, drawing clear by 1 ½ lengths after a stumbling start. Clapton followed up his second-start maiden victory with an eighth-place finish in the Affirmed, in which he stumbled at the start. Globes is a maiden who finished third in both of his starts.

Cristian Torres has been named on The Skipper Too; Chantal Sutherland has the call on Clapton; and Marcos Meneses is scheduled to ride Globes.

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Alex and JoAnn Liebling's Big and Classy, who improved on a fifth-place Dr. Fager showing to finish third in the Affirmed, will seek further improvement in the In Reality. The David Fawkes-trained son of The Big Beast, who raced evenly while finishing three lengths behind runner-up Cajun's Magic in the Affirmed, graduated by 5 ¾ lengths in his second career start.

“He worked in company with Noble Drama the other day and did excellent,” said Fawkes, who will also saddle multiple-stakes winner Noble Drama for Saturday's $125,000 FSS Wildcat Heir. “I was happy with his last race. Samy Camacho is riding him back this time, and I think he's got a huge chance.”

Big and Classy will make Camacho earn his mount fee.

“He doesn't want to sprint, No. 1, and No. 2, he's one of those kinds of horses you have to stay busy on. He'll relax under you too much. He's not the kind of horse that's going to take you unless you ask him, but he'll give you all he's got if you ask him.”

William Heiligbrodt, Corrine Heiligbrodt and Spendthrift Farm LLC's Cattin, a son of Neolithic trained by Ralph Nicks, and Amalio Ruiz-Lozano's Gold Special, a son of Jess's Dream trained by Angel Rodriguez, return in the In Reality after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Affirmed.

Edgard Zayas has the call on Cattin, while Jonathan Gonzales will be aboard Gold Special.

Our Sugar Bear Stable Inc.'s One More Score and Champion Equine LLC's Fivefive Six Champ round out the field.

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Outfoxed The Star Attraction In Saturday’s Florida Sire Series My Dear Girl

Anticipation for Outfoxed's next start began building the very instant the Bill Mott-trained filly crossed the finish line 13 ½ lengths clear of her competition in her FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series debut Aug. 28 at Gulfstream Park

The visually stunning and utterly dominating manner in which she graduated in the $200,000 Susan's Girl immediately raised the question: What could LNJ Foxwoods' 2-year-old filly possibly do for an encore?

The question is about to be answered.

Outfoxed is scheduled to make her highly anticipated return to action in Saturday's $400,000 My Dear Girl at Gulfstream Park, where the 1 1/16-mile FSS finale for juvenile fillies will co-headline Saturday's program with the $400,000 In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open division FSS finale.

The Florida-bred filly, who was purchased for $360,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds-in-training sale, looked like a bargain buy while making her second career start in the seven-furlong second leg of the lucrative series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.

After taking some coaxing to load into the gate, Outfoxed settled off the pace under Edgard Zayas before making an eye-catching five-wide sweep on the turn into the stretch and drawing off with complete authority. She ran seven furlongs in 1:23.81, more than a second faster than it took Octane to complete the distance of the FSS Affirmed against colts and geldings two races later.

Did the manner in which she overwhelmed her 10 rivals in the Susan's Girl prompt her connections to consider bypassing the My Dear Girl in favor of running her in a graded stakes elsewhere?

“We never really discussed it,” Mott said. “Everyone agreed we'd take advantage of the races available to her. She's eligible for these spots, and that's what was decided.”

It would have been understandable if Outfoxed's connections had decided to run her in a graded-stakes, considering that she entered the Susan's Girl off a late-closing third-place finish behind Echo Zulu in a Saratoga maiden special weight race. Echo Zulu went on to win the Spinaway (G1) in her next start.

“We liked her first race at Saratoga,” Mott said. “Even though she didn't win, she closed well.”

Could her dazzling graduation in the Susan's Girl have come a bit too easy for Outfoxed with reference to her preparedness for the My Dear Girl?

“Obviously, you don't know how she's going to do but, if it's the same group, I figure she did enough [last time],” Mott said. “A lot of times, you can be confused. It looks like they're doing it easy, but they still have to run.”

Gulfstream-based trainer Ralph Nicks, a former Mott assistant, has been overseeing Outfoxed's preparation for her return.

“She's had a couple works. She had a decent work the other day [with Ralph],” Mott said. “The first one was pretty easy, but she had a pretty good one the other day.”

Even at her very best, Outfoxed will need to prove she can reproduce the brilliance she showed in the Susan's Girl in a two-turn race such as the My Dear Girl.

“I'm not worried too much. It looks like it shouldn't be too much of a problem the way she ran the other day, but they always have to do it,” Mott said. “But she went seven-eighths the other day and she went pretty well.”

Outfoxed is the first winner for her first-crop sire Valiant Minister, a $680,000 son of Candy Ride who retired from racing after winning his six-furlong debut at Santa Anita for trainer Bob Baffert in January 2017.

Zayas has the return call on Outfoxed, who drew the No. 1 post position.

Champion Equine LLC's My Sassenach, who was victorious in the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series, will seek to improve on a distant third-place finish in the Susan's Girl Saturday. The David Braddy-trained daughter of Uncaptured raced in traffic before closing to finish third in the Susan's Girl.

My Sassenach graduated in the six-furlong FSS Desert Vixen, shaking off a bumping incident at the start before romping to an 8 ¼-length triumph.

Miguel Vasquez has the return call on the filly who finished second in her debut prior to entering the FSS series.

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Chacalosa will be the new FSS face Saturday while making her Gulfstream debut off an open-stakes victory in the Arlington Lassie. The daughter of Jess's Dream graduated with a late-closing 36-1 upset victory in the seven-furlong sprint over Arlington Park's synthetic surface for owner/trainer Earl Hughes. The Florida-bred filly, who was winless in her two previous career starts, is scheduled to make her debut for Arlington Park's leading trainer Larry Rivelli in the My Dear Girl.

Emisael Jaramillo is slated to ride the Arlington invader for the first time Saturday.

Trainer Daniel Pita's Devilette, who set the pace before being overwhelmed by Outfoxed, will seek to improve on her second-place finish while trying two turns for the first time.

Pita, who saddled Princess Secret for a victory in last year's My Dear Girl, has awarded the return mount aboard Khozan-sired Devilette to Cristian Torres.

Trainer Michael Yate's Cajun Cousin is scheduled to make her stakes debut in the My Dear Girl following a second-place finish in an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream.

“She's training fabulous. She has had three sprint races. She broke her maiden for a tag and came back in an A-other-than and finished second,” Yates said. “We thought the [Susan's Girl] was too quick back. We just wanted to train up to the mile-and-a-sixteenth and see what happens.”

Jesus Rios has the call aboard the daughter of Cajun Breeze.

Trainer Roger Laurin's Veiled Prophet, who finished fifth in the Susan's Girl, enters the My Dear Girl off a second-place maiden special weight finish. The daughter of Uncaptured had previously finished second in her first two career starts prior to her off-the-board finish in the second FSS leg.

Luca Panici has the mount.

Wendell Yates and Ronald Brown's Sequin Lady, who is winless in two starts, and Arindel's Baby Blue, a three-race maiden, round out the field.

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