October, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Prendimi Outlasts Tappin Cat to Take Maryland Million Classic

Prendimi held the lead from gate to wire, but his win in his third try at Maryland Million Classic was not an easy one. The 6-year-old gelding outlasted the stretch-long challenge from a persistent Tappin Cat to take the Classic by a head at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Prendimi took the top spot right out of the gate, with Ain't Da Beer Cold and Tappin Cat in second and third a half-length back. Thorough early factions of :23.61 and :46.84, Prendimi ran comfortably on the lead under jockey Mychel Sanchez. Ain't Da Beer Cold pulled even with Prendimi as they approached the far turn, with Tappin Cat going to the outside to find racing room

Around the turn, Ain't Da Beer Cold faded as Tappin Cat made his bid for the lead as they straightened out into the Laurel stretch. Prendimi had a half-length on Tappin Cat, but the challenger would not quit, forcing Prendimi to dig in late stretch to hold off Tappin Cat and win by a head. The Poser was third. Torch of Truth, Dream Big Dreams, Crouchelli, Dashing Lou, and Ain't Da Beer Cold rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:50.46. Find this race's chart here.

Prendimi paid $26.20, $7.80, and $4.60. Tappin Cat paid $2.40 and $2.10. The Poser paid $3.60.

Bred in New Jersey by owner GJ Stables, Prendimi is by Dance With Ravens out of the Tour d'Or mare Cigno d'Oro. He is trained by Luis Carvajal, Jr. The Maryland Million Classic is Prendimi's first win in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in 30 starts and $472,005 in career earnings.

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‘Swirl’ the Girl in Raven Run

Caramel Swirl got just the better of an enervating final-furlong tussle in Saturday's GII Lexus Raven Run S. at Keeneland, dropping her nose down on the line just ahead of the over-achieving Joy's Rocket to earn her first stakes and graded stakes victory. The 33-10 second betting choice behind her Bill Mott stablemate Obligatory (Curlin), Caramel Swirl settled just behind midfield and raced three off the inside beneath Junior Alvarado before committing to a wide run around the turn. In hand approaching the quarter pole, she was angled six deep into the lane, hooked up with Joy's Rocket a furlong from home and was the recipient of a very fortuitous bob in. Cilla, lightly regarded despite her last-out score in the GII Prioress S., attended the pace from between rivals, was headed by the rallying duo at the furlong grounds and kept on gamely to be third. Obligatory, the 5-2 chalk, never landed a serious blow.

“She is just very honest. She's a very classy filly. She does everything you need to do in the race,” Alvarado said of the winner. “Today we were in a little tough spot on the backside, and I needed to get a little bit out of that spot because I wasn't really comfortable there, and she helped me to get out of there. Then at the same time, when I decided to pick it up a little bit to stay in contention, she was there for me. Like I say, she just really makes my job easier.”

Second in her first three outings, including behind future superstar Malathaat (Curlin), Caramel Swirl signaled her affinity for this very track and trip with a fifth-out 10 1/4-length romp in April. She could only manage seventh behind Obligatory in the GII Eight Belles S. on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard Apr. 30, but reemerged at Saratoga in July for a sharp first-level allowance victory that earned her a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. She was looking to bounce back off a fourth-place finish at 7-10 in the two-turn, seven-panel GIII Charles Town Oaks Aug. 27.

“It was a little tougher than when she won by 10 to break her maiden here (in April), that was for sure, but obviously with the step up in company and class–Junior gave her a super ride,” said Godolphin President and Racing Manager Jimmy Bell. “She showed true determination and grit and heart down the lane. Made it interesting, but we're happy to be here in the Winner's Circle.”

The Godolphin team was presented with a tray by Keeneland to commemorate its eighth graded stakes win at the Lexington oval. Bell, who it was recently announced will be retiring at the end of the year, was handed the tray by his son Gatewood, Keeneland's Vice President of Racing.

“Everything about it is special,” Bell said. “Keeneland is special. Obviously, Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin are very, very special, and seeing Gatewood over here, it's very, very, very special. I'm kind of at a loss for words. But happy also that so many of our folks from the farm could be over here that have such a hand in raising these horses. This being another homebred, it's just very special for the operation. Just very happy to be on the receiving end of things. Very appreciative.”

Saturday, Keeneland
LEXUS RAVEN RUN S.-GII, $250,000, Keeneland, 10-23, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:23.42, ft.
1–CARAMEL SWIRL, 118, f, 3, by Union Rags
               1st Dam: Caramel Snap, by Smart Strike
               2nd Dam: Fast Cookie, by Deputy Minister
               3rd Dam: Fleet Lady, by Avenue of Flags
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior
Alvarado. $150,000. Lifetime Record: 9-3-3-1, $317,300.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. Click for the eNicks report &
5-cross pedigree.
2–Joy's Rocket, 118, f, 3, Anthony's Cross–Queenie's Pride,
by Special Rate. ($47,000 2yo '20 OBSMAR). O-Team Hanley
& Parkland Thoroughbreds; B-Weston Thoroughbreds
Training & Sales (FL); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $50,000.
3–Cilla, 120, f, 3, California Chrome–Sittin At the Bar, by Into
Mischief. ($120,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEEJAN). O-P. Dale Ladner;
B-Brett A. Brinkman & P. Dale Ladner (LA); T-Brett A.
Brinkman. $25,000.
Margins: HD, 2, 4. Odds: 3.30, 24.00, 10.30.
Also Ran: Shalimar Gardens, Souper Sensational, Obligatory, Miss Speedy, Strong Silent, Minute Waltz, Someone Said So, Zainalarab. Scratched: Feeling Mischief, Just Read It.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Caramel Swirl is the 21st stakes winner and 11th graded winner for Union Rags, who has been potent when matched with Smart Strike mares, producing the likes of GISW juvenile Union Strike and GSW/MGISP Spielberg. He is the dam sire of 136 stakes winners, 52 graded, overall. Dam Caramel Swirl is out of GSW Fast Cookie, making her a half to the brilliant fellow Godolphin runner and now sire Frosted (Tapit) as well as GSW Indulgent (Bernardini). Another Godolpin stallion, champion 2-year-old Midshipman (Unbridled's Song), is under her third dam.

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For Jim McIngvale, an Astros World Series Win Would Mean $35.6 Million

Horse owner and master promoter Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is no stranger to making big sports bets, but never anything like this. If his beloved Houston Astros win the World Series, McIngvale will make $35.6 million off of a series of bets he made in June. It would be the largest winning wager ever in U.S. sports betting history.

McIngvale often combines his wagers with promotions at his Gallery Furniture Stores in Houston. Earlier this year, he promised his customers that any mattress they bought worth $3,000 or more would be free if the favorite won the GI Kentucky Derby. McIngvale hedged, wagering $2.4 million to win on 5-2 favorite Essential Quality (Tapit), who finished fourth. A winning bet would have been worth a profit of just less than $7 million, which would have more than covered the amount he lost giving away free mattresses. A loss by Essential Quality still meant that he sold thousands of mattresses he otherwise would not have sold. Either way, McIngvale would come out a winner.

In February, McIngvale won $2.72 million on a Super Bowl wager in which he bet $3.46 million on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to cover the 3.5 point spread. It was the single largest legal wager placed on the game.

The latest promotion follows the same blueprint as the Derby wager. An Astros World Series win would mean that anyone buying a mattress during the promotional period would get it for free. Prior to the American League Championship Series, McIngvale estimated that having to give away the mattresses would cost him $20 million. It looks like that number has gone up.

When reached Saturday, a day after the Astros advanced to the World Series with a win over the Boston Red Sox, McIngvale said his store was being overrun by customers looking to take advantage of the promotion.

“Today is the biggest day in the store's history,” he said. “By a factor of about four and it's going up all the time. We're going to sell thousands of mattresses. I can't even count them. We're trying to buy them as fast as we can get them. We can't buy them fast enough. It will literally be thousands of mattresses.”

Believing that the promotion would prove to be a huge success, McIngvale made his wagers on June 10, when the Astros were still considered one of many teams with a good shot at going all the way. He bet $2 million that the Astros would win the World Series with William Hill at odds of 10-1 and another $1 million at 10-1 with Fanduel. He also made two smaller wagers at outlets that gave him 16-1. In total, he bet $3.2 million on the Astros.

The Astros are now an odds-on favorite to win their first World Series since 2017.

“I like to gamble,” McIngvale said. “I gamble big all the time. It's a promotion and it's a hedge. My heart and soul are with the Houston Astros, and, just as with Runhappy, I'm all in.”

For a while, it looked like McIngvale had backed a loser. The Astros fell behind, 2-1, in the series with Boston and their starting pitching was a mess. Many a pundit had already given the series to the Red Sox. Instead, the Astros rallied to win the next three games to close out the series and advance.

“I was not worried,” McIngvale said. “After they got beat Monday night, I was in Boston having a good time and saw some of the players that I know and they were upbeat and positive. I knew that sooner or later every batter on the Red Sox would stop hitting. 500. I knew there would be a statistical swing and things sure swung the Astros way over the last three games.”

Having a potential World Series winner at 10-1 means that McIngavle could “save” and bet some amount to win on the National League team. By doing so, he could lock in a guaranteed profit. It's not going to happen.

“I would consider that treason,” he said. “I would never do that to my boys. I wouldn't do that in a thousand years.”

With so many customers buying mattresses on Saturday, it was difficult for McIngvale to do the math. He knows he will make $35.6 million if the Astros win, but there was no telling how much he would lose giving away so many mattresses. That didn't matter with him. Not only is his heart with his hometown, he wants nothing more than to reward his customers with free mattresses.

“It will make customers happy and that's the whole idea,” he said of an Astros World Championship. “That's the whole idea, making customers happy. That's the name of the game. If the customers get their money back, they will talk about this for decades to come.”

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Shifty She Takes Field Wire To Wire In Noble Damsel At Belmont

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.'s Shifty She was shifty indeed, taking the lead right out of the gate and eluding challenges from Tamahere and High Opinion to win the Grade 3 Noble Damsel at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Breaking from post five, Shifty She darted out to the early lead, controlling the pace through fractions of :23.33 and :46.20 around the first turn and into the backstretch. Tamahere ran second, poised to challenge Shifty She in the stretch with High Opinion behind her in third. Around the far turn, Tamahere got within a half-length of Shifty She, entering the stretch pressuring the front-running Shifty She.

In the stretch over the firm Widener turf, Tamahere was unable to stay with Shifty She, fading as High Opinion tried to mount a bid for the lead. Shifty She had too much momentum, repelling those challenges to win by 1 1/2 lengths. High Opinion was second, and Flower Point was third.

The final time for the one-mile Noble Damsel was 1:33.24. Find this race's chart here.

Shifty She paid $15.20, $6.90, and $4.70. High Opinion paid $3.90 and $3.10. Flower Point paid $6.60.

Bred in Florida by Chris Pallas and George Klein, Shifty She is by Gone Astray out of the Strong Hope mare Perilous Hope. She is owned by Chris Pallas and Harvey Rothenberg. With her win in the G3 Nobel Damsel, Shifty She has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in 10 starts and career earnings of $317,395.

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