$1.5 Million Quality Road Colt Corniche Wires American Pharoah Field

A $1.5 million sales purchase in April, Speedway Stables' Corniche ran like it on Friday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as he dictated terms throughout under Mike Smith to register an emphatic 3 ¼-length victory in Santa Anita's Grade 1, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes.  With Bob Baffert picking up his record 10th American Pharoah win, Corniche ran the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.75.

A Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” Challenge Race qualifier, Corniche, a Kentucky-bred colt by Quality Road, now has a fees-paid berth into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

Breaking from the rail in a field of seven, Corniche, who came off a scintillating first-out maiden score going 5 ½ furlongs on Sept. 4 at Del Mar, was pressed by stablemate Rockefeller to the quarter pole, dispatched of him turning for home and won in-hand in a very impressive effort.

“There's just so much upside to this horse,” said Smith.  “This is what's really exciting about him.  When he broke his maiden as impressive as he did, he just gave me that feeling that we weren't even close to his full potential. … He's a big colt and he carries a lot of flesh.  As he starts to get even fitter and harder inside, he's gonna be a force to reckon with.”

The 2-5 favorite, Corniche paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.

Owned by Peter Fluor's Speedway Stables, LLC, Corniche, who is out of the Najran mare Wasted Tears, picked up $180,000 for his efforts, increasing his earnings to $222,000. Bred in Kentucky by Bart Evans and Stonehaven Steadings, Corniche was a $385,000 buyback at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, then was offered by De Meric Sales at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training, where he brought a final bid of $1.5 million.

“You never know until you send them two turns whether they'll be able to handle it or not, and it looked like he handled it pretty well,” said Baffert.  “He's got a great mind, so I'm pretty happy about that.  I loved how they both broke well and were forwardly placed, that's where we like to be.  Down the backside, he was being chased by a really good horse (Rockefeller, who checked fourth)…”

When asked about the issue of Corniche not receiving what was to have been 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points due to the fact Churchill downs has issued an edict precluding any of Baffert's Derby prospects from earning said points, he responded, “We're just going to let the process play itself out and not think about that now.  The main thing is to keep them healthy and have them ready for the next dance.  I just focus on these horses day in and day out…”

Pappacap, who overtook Rockefeller at the top of the lane, finished well to be second under Joe Bravo and paid $6.80 and $4.20 while off at 13-1.

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, early trailer Oviatt Class finished a half length back in third and paid $3.00 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.55, 47.26, 1:11.91 and 1:37.85.

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Martingale System

Pick up any Roulette book and you’re bound to read about the Martingale system. It’s a simple system that’s been in use for eons. In fact, many other games besides Roulette use this system as well.

For the most part, the Martingale system was designed for even-money bets, but the premise can be applied to just about anything. Today, we’ll look at the Martingale betting system from an even-money Roulette perspective.

Technically, this system, which is a series of bet progressions, can go on forever, but that would be foolish. Normally, system bettors will limit their progressions to eight or fewer. And when we go over the progressions, you’ll see why.

Is betting the Martingale way foolish? Some say so. That’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself. I’ve seen it work and I’ve seen it fail. But heck, everything fails. The ticket is to win more than you lose. And that’s why so many try the Martingale way. It’s not a way to quick riches, but it sure can be hard to lose it all sometimes.

I told you we’d look at this from a Roulette pair of eyes, so let’s imagine that you’ve just walked up to the Roulette table or loading one up online. We’ll keep this simple. You’re a $1 bettor. Easy enough right? Now, we’re going to play Red.

Your first wager on Red would be $1. If you win, your next wager on Red is also $1. In other words, you never bet more than a buck after a win. Now, when you lose, that’s another story.

In essence, you’ll be doubling your wager after every loss. For instance, let’s say you wagered $1 and lost. Your next wager on Red would be $2. Lose that and you’ll bet $4 next time. It’s an easy system to play, but you need to be careful. If you use a large progression chain and lose it all, you’ll be playing for ages to recoup the cash.

Here’s an example of an 8-step ladder.

Bet One: $1
Bet Two: $2
Bet Three: $4
Bet Four: $8
Bet Five: $16
Bet Six: $32
Bet Seven: $64
Bet Eight: $128

As you can see, when bet eight is on the table, there’s $128 in action. If bet eight loses, you’re out just over $250-all to win $1. And that’s why some think this is a foolish system.

However, let’s play the odds. The probability of getting 8 losses in a row on a close to 50/50 bet is very low. Still, it does happen.

Want to boost your odds? Wait for the other side to come out 2-3 times in a row then bet the opposite. It would then take 10-11 losers in a row to clean out the system.

Lieutenant Dan Cruises In Eddie D. As Racing Returns To Santa Anita Hillside Course

Celebrated by racing fans nationwide, racing returned to Santa Anita's Camino Real hillside turf course in Arcadia, Calif., on Friday as California-bred Lieutenant Dan pressed the pace and took control turning for home en route to a half-length victory in the Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D. Stakes. Ridden by Geovanni Franco, “Dan” got the “about” distance of  6 ½ furlongs down the hill on firm turf in 1:11.74.

Owned and bred by Nick Alexander, Lieutenant Dan sat a close third early to pacesetter Charmaine's Mia, who was pressed to her immediate outside by Law Abidin Citizen.  Hand-ridden over the dirt crossing at the top of the stretch, Lieutenant Dan cruised to the lead and was never seriously challenged through the lane.

Off as the 5-2 favorite in a field of nine 3-year-olds and up, Lieutenant Dan, who notched his third consecutive victory today, paid $7.00, $3.80 and $3.20. The 5-year-old gelding by Alexander's stallion Grazen has now won eight of 16 career starts.

“It was so unexpected,” said Alexander of the horse's growing resume. “I think he was the seventh or eighth foal out of the mare (Excusabull), and the first seven did nothing so, we had very low expectations for this horse and he just continues to exceed them. He just loves to win.

“I love that turf course,” Alexander added. “We have always excelled on it and Grazen babies just seem to love that distance and that downhill. It is so beautiful.”

“He's a pretty fast horse and he's very versatile,” said Franco. “He broke sharp like he always does and put me in a nice spot where if they were going too slow, I could have gone and if they were going too fast, I could have sat back.

“All in all, he was the one taking me through the trip. At the end of the race he kept on going. I heard some noises of people coming but he never slowed down or waited for anybody.

“It was a great feeling to ride the hill again, it is definitely different than any other race or surface,” added Franco. “You have a lot of fun out there, especially when you have a horse like this one.”

[Story Continues Below]

Highly accomplished Snapper Sinclair, who shipped in from Churchill Downs for Steve Asmussen, kept to his task from off the pace and finished second in a solid effort, finishing a neck in front of the Bob Hess, Jr. Chaos Theory.  Off as the 7-2 second choice, he paid $4.40 and $3.20.

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Chaos Theory was off at 36-1 and paid $10.80 to show while finishing a half length better than a late closing Gregorian Chant.

Fractions on the race were 21.61, 42.95 and 1:05.66.

The Eddie D is named for legendary retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye.

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Unbeaten Corniche Wires American Pharoah in Style

'TDN Rising Star' Corniche (c, 2, Quality Road–Wasted Tears, by Najran), the $1.5-million OBS April topper earlier this spring and a jaw-dropping debut winner going 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar Sept. 4, led them every step of the way to run to the money as the 2-5 favorite in Friday's 'Win and You're In' GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita.

Pappacap (Gun Runner), winner of the GII Best Pal S., was second; third out maiden winner Oviatt Class (Bernardini) was third.

Corniche is the 10th winner of the American Pharoah for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

“You never know until you send them two turns whether they'll be able handle it or not, and it looked like he handled it pretty well,” Baffert said. “He's got a great mind so I'm pretty happy about that. Down the backside he was being chased by a really good horse. It was a really good race all around.

“We're just going to let the process play itself out and not think about that now. The main thing is to keep them healthy and have them ready for the next dance. I just focus on these horses day in and day out. I have a lot of responsibilities.”

Sent to the front from his rail draw by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, Corniche showed the way through an opening quarter in :23.55 and a half mile in :47.26. Challenged by stablemate Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro) approaching the three-eighths pole, Corniche let it out a notch as they turned for home and was hand ridden late to a dominating 3 1/4-length score while making his two-turn debut.

“There's just so much upside to this horse,” Smith said. “That is what's really exciting about him. When he broke his maiden as impressive as he did, he just gave me that feeling that we weren't even close to his full potential, and he gave me that feeling today. He's a big colt and he carries a lot of flesh. As he starts to get even fitter and harder inside, he's gonna be a force to reckon with.”

Pedigree Notes:

Corniche is the 50th stakes winner/28th graded stakes winner/12th Grade I winner for Quality Road.

The son of six-time GSW and GI Matriarch S. runner-up Wasted Tears (Najran) was led out unsold on a bid of $385,000 at KEESEP last year, but turned in a smooth sales breeze in :10 flat to become one of two horses to eclipse the seven-figure barrier in Ocala.

Wasted Tears, also responsible for the late stakes-placed Coffee Crush (Medaglia d'Oro), had a filly by Mendelssohn in 2020.

Speedway Stables and Baffert also teamed up for a win with Quality Road's 'Rising Star' Roadster in the 2019 GI Santa Anita Derby and a runner-up finish in the GI Malibu S.

Friday, Santa Anita
AMERICAN PHAROAH S.-GI, $301,000, Santa Anita, 10-1, 2yo,
1 1/16m, 1:44.75, ft.
1–CORNICHE, 122, c, 2, by Quality Road
                1st Dam: Wasted Tears (MGSW & GISP, $941,463), by Najran
                2nd Dam: Wishes and Roses, by Greinton (GB)
                3rd Dam: Anniversary Wish, by Beau's Eagle
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. 'TDN Rising Star' ($385,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP;
$1,500,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Speedway Stables LLC; B-Bart
Evans & Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Mike E.
Smith. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $222,000. Werk
Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pappacap, 122, c, 2, Gun Runner–Pappascat, by Scat Daddy.
O/B-Rustlewood Farm, Inc. (FL); T-Mark E. Casse. $60,000.
3–Oviatt Class, 122, c, 2, Bernardini–Occasionally, by Tiznow.
($37,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $60,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-James
Downey; B-Godophin & Morgan's Ford Farm (VA); T-J. Keith
Desormeaux. $36,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, HF, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 13.70, 6.70.
Also Ran: Rockefeller, Flying Drummer, Finneus, Joker Boy.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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