November, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Jaxon Traveler Takes On Baby Yoda In Monday’s $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint

West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner owned Jaxon Traveler will be making the journey to Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Valley Race Course this Monday, Nov. 22 to contest the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint. The Steve Asmussen trainee is a three time stakes winner and earlier this year found himself on the board in two graded stakes efforts.

His first graded effort came in the Chick Lang (G3) at Pimlico where he finished second, one and a quarter lengths behind Mighty Mischief. Two starts later, he returned to graded company over the turf course at Saratoga in the Quick Call (G3) finishing third behind eventual Breeders Cup Turf Sprint (G1) victor Golden Pal.

Next out, Jaxon Traveler would cruise to an easy victory in the restricted Star De Naskra before returning to the turf in his most recent effort where he came up three quarters of a length short in the Allied Forces at Belmont.

“We have tried him a few times on the turf and he is certainly a bit more of a dirt horse but still runs well,” comments Toby Sheets, Assistant Trainer to Steve Asmussen. “He has been a very consistent horse for us and has been training good leading into this race.”

Never off the board in ten lifetime starts, the colt will have the services of Gerardo Corrales in the irons for the first time.

Boasting the highest Beyer number of not only this field but tied for the top spot in the United States in 2021 is Bill Mott-trained Baby Yoda who earned a 114 for his effort at Saratoga on Sept. 4.

If his name wasn't enough to catch the public eye, his back to back dominant performances this summer at Saratoga certainly were and led him to his first start in stakes company, the Vosburgh (G2) at Belmont, where he finished third to his older counterparts, grade one placed Following Sea and grade one winner Firenze Fire.

“Baby Yoda is a nice horse, a lot of fun to be around, and we have been slowly working him up the ladder,” states Mott. “He caught a tough field last out in the Vosburgh and after the race, we made the decision to point him towards the Steel Valley Sprint. It's a good purse and we will be in our own age group.” Owned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Pantofel Stable LLC, and Jerold L. Zaro, Baby Yoda will be entering this race looking for the first stakes win of his young career and will be reunited with jockey Jose Ortiz who rode him to both his victories at Saratoga.

Trainer Carlos David is entering the Steel Valley Sprint with stakes winner and grade two placed Real Talk, owned by Bell Racing LLC. Real Talk broke through with his first stake score on August 15 at Monmouth in the Jersey Shore setting the pace and pulling away to win by four and a half lengths.

After that performance it was on to graded company in the Gallant Bob (G2) where he finished third behind multiple grade one winner Jackie's Warrior and grade three winner Pickin' Time. Real Talk will have the return services of Paco Lopez.

Entering fresh off a win last out is Robert Reid, Jr. trained Beren who scored in statebred company at Penn National Race Course. Owned by St. Omer's Farm and Christopher J. Feifarek, Beren also boasts multiple stakes winning efforts against open company at Belmont Park and Parx and has the highest earnings in the field at $436,970. Regular rider Frankie Pennington will be aboard.

Rounding out the field is Kelly Breen trained Newbomb who ran a big race last out in allowance company at Belmont, Mister Luigi, Channel Fury, A Few Too Many, Timeless Bounty, Insofar, Kiltoom, and Ahimelech.

Scheduled to run just before the Steel Valley Sprint is the $75,000 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff headlined by Todd Beattie trained multiple grade three winner Victim of Love who will find herself facing off against twelve other rivals.

The Steel Valley Sprint is schedule to go to post at 4:07 P.M. EST and will be part of a mandatory payout of the Buckeye Jackpot Pick 6 which starts in race 4 at approx. 2:08 P.M. EST. “We are excited to offer our handicappers added wagering value on the card with this mandatory payout of our Buckeye Jackpot Pick 6,” comments Rob Swedinovich, Vice President and General Manager. The Pick 6 sequence boasts an average field size before scratches of nine horses. Handicappers should also note that the stake is included in the Pick 4 sequence featuring a low 15% takeout which begins in race 6 at approx. 3:04 P.M. EST.

$250,000 STEEL VALLEY SPRINT

November 22, 2021

Race 8 – Post Time 4:07 P.M. EST

3yr, 6 Furlongs

PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer

1. Kiltoom, T.D. Houghton, 117, Crystal Richison

2. Beren, Frankie Pennington, 124, Robert E. Reid, Jr.

3. Jaxon Traveler, Gerardo Corrales, 124, Steven M. Asmussen

4. Baby Yoda, Jose L. Ortiz, 119, William I. Mott

5. Newbomb, Jose Lezcano, 121, Kelly J. Breen

6. Mister Luigi, Edgard J. Zayas, 117, Antonio Sano

7. Real Talk, Paco Lopez, 124, Carlos A. David

8. Channel Fury, Luis Raul Rivera, 117, James R. Jackson

9. A Few Too Many, TBA, 117, Michelle L. Elliott

10. Timeless Bounty, Malcolm Franklin, 117, David Wilson, Jr.

11. Ahimelech, Jeffrey Sanchez, 117, Jeffrey Skerrett

12. Insofar, Gabriel Lagunes, 117, Eduardo Caramori

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Bloodlines: Messier Bolsters One Of Unbridled Sire Line’s Strongest Branches

Twenty years after the death of Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Unbridled (by Fappiano), the influence of the towering bay stallion proliferates through the breed.

In the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 14, the trifecta all descend from the 1990 Kentucky Derby winner. The winner was the highly touted Messier (Empire Maker), now a winner in two of his three starts. Second was Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah, by Pioneerof the Nile, by Empire Maker), and third was Winning Map (Liam's Map, by Unbridled's Song).

Through Grade 1 winner Pioneerof the Nile, the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and champion juvenile Classic Empire, Empire Maker would hold a moderate advantage as the most vibrant branch of the Mr. Prospector line through Fappiano. The other challenger from the Unbridled clan is the one from Unbridled's Song, who has two useful sons at stud in champion juvenile Midshipman and in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam's Map, sire of Grade 1 winners Juju's Map (Alcibiades and second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies) and Colonel Liam (Pegasus Turf and Turf Classic) this year.

Empire Maker's branch of Unbridled is much more classic and more consistent in aptitude with the great classic sire Unbridled than the branch from Unbridled's Song, which flirted with levels of speed hard to believe and sometimes hard to keep sound as a result.

Breeders and buyers love both types, though.

The commercial market almost decided that Empire Maker was too classic for American racing, and then, just when the stallion was sold to Japan, Empire Maker enjoyed a resurgence in American racing and breeding with the classic aptitude of Pioneerof the Nile and his famous sons.

That brought Empire Maker back to Kentucky for the final years of his term at stud, and he has had some bright spots, both on the racetrack, as well as at the sales. Yet overall, students of bloodlines tended to love Empire Maker more than the intuitive match makers of big, beautiful yearlings.

In Messier, there is a pleasing match of pedigree elements which produced a good sales yearling. Bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, Messier was sold as a yearling at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton select yearling auction for $470,000. That was a strong price for an Empire Maker yearling in 2020, and Messier has a profile in keeping with the best colts from this line: developing good stakes form late at two, before accelerating their improvement the next year to challenge for the classics.

This is the pattern of development that Empire Maker himself showed under the patient training of Bobby Frankel. After being third in the Remsen Stakes at the end of his juvenile season, Empire Maker progressed to win the G1 Florida Derby and Wood Memorial, and he was favored for the Kentucky Derby. In the classic itself, however, Empire Maker finished second behind Funny Cide, then came back in the Belmont to win at the classic 12-furlong distance.

Never out of the money in eight starts with winnings of nearly $2 million, Empire Maker possessed the racing class and physical quality and depth of pedigree to make breeders believe they could breed classic winners, and the only real knock against Empire Maker and his stock is that they are probably too classic for the American racing program, with its tedious over-emphasis on racing at distances from six to eight furlongs.

Even so, Empire Maker has sired 67 stakes winners, including 37 graded winners, and all those positive qualities attracted some splendid mares to Empire Maker, including stakes winner Checkered Past (Smart Strike), the dam of Messier.

Messier is the fifth generation of this family bred by Sam-Son Farm, including his third dam Catch the Ring (Seeking the Gold), who was champion 3-year-old filly in Canada and then the dam of Canada's champion juvenile filly Catch the Thrill, a full sister to Messier's second dam, Catch the Flag (both by A.P. Indy).

Sam-Son bred Catch the Ring, her two stakes-winning full siblings, and three stakes-placed racers from stakes winner Radiant Ring (Halo), winner of 11 races and $775,478. Radiant Ring was the best stakes winner that Sam-Son bred from the stakes-placed Gleaming mare Gleaming Stone, who was bred in Kentucky by Nuckols Bros. in 1976.

In addition to the stamp of the Sam-Son Farm breeding program, the other great influence on Messier is Mr. Prospector himself. Not only does the colt trace to the great stallion son of Raise a Native in the male line, but the colt's broodmare sire is Smart Strike, a son of Mr. Prospector who led the national sires rankings twice. And the third dam is a daughter of the fine broodmare sire Seeking the Gold, whose daughters are more dominant in America but whose male line through Dubai Millennium and his classic son Dubawi is one of the most important in Europe.

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Jackie’s Warrior Emerges From Breeders’ Cup With Knee Chip, Expected To Return In 2022

After finishing sixth as the heavy favorite in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, Jackie's Warrior was diagnosed with a chip in his left knee.

According to the Daily Racing Form, the 3-year-old son of Maclean's Music has undergone surgery with Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, and is expected to return to the races in 2022.

This year, Jackie's Warrior has won the G2 Pat Day Mile, G2 Amsterdam, G1 H. Allen Jerkens, and the G2 Gallant Bob.

“He's an unbelievable, tremendous horse,” trainer Steve Asmussen told DRF. “I thought that the Allen Jerkens against Life Is Good was as good as horse racing gets. Unbelievably fortunate to be involved with him and very anxious to race him next year – because they don't get any better.”

Betting a Lightly-Raced Runner to Post Upset Win in Red Smith

The $200,000, Grade 2 Red Smith Stakes drew a field of 10 running 1 3/8 miles on the Aqueduct turf course. Although a Grade 2 race, there are few in the field proven at the level and/or distance. One of those is Tide of the Sea, who on the Grade 2 W. L.