November, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Neige Blanche Kicks Off Del Mar Turf Festival With Front-Running Red Carpet Score

The French filly Neige Blanche made every pole a winner in her 11-furlong journey Thursday in the $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap at Del Mar and held off the late-charging 3-10 favorite Luck at the wire for a head victory in the Grade 3 headliner at the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif.

The 4-year-old chestnut by the Irish stallion Anodin ran the distance in 2:15.45 under Juan Hernandez and returned $24.80 to her backers in the Thanksgiving Day crowd.

Neige Blanche ('white snow' in French) is trained by Frenchman Leonard Powell. She's owned by the following group: Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, Laura De Seroux, Marsha Naify and Mathilde Powell.

Luck, who races for LNJ Foxwoods, finished a half length ahead of Katsumi Yoshida's Nicest in third.

The payoffs were Neigh Blanche $24.80, $5.00 and $3.00; Luck $2.20 and $2.10, and Nicest $3.00. Fractions were :25.00, :50.60, 1:16.35, 1:40.25, 2:03.38 and 2:15.45

“I thought I'd be running second behind someone,” said Hernandez. “She usually relaxes better if she's got a horse in front of her. But today nobody wanted the front and she seemed to be fine out there so I just let her keep on going. When we were in the stretch she sensed that other horse (3-10 favorite Luck) coming on the outside and she picked it up. She didn't want to get beat.”

Neige Blanche earned a first prize of $60,000 for her efforts, pushing her winnings to $315,280. She now has six wins in 15 outings.

“We brought her here (from France) a year ago and she has been a really consistent, good horse,” said Powell. “We tried some new tactics today, going to the lead, and it worked. I could see the first time past the stands the pace wasn't that fast and I felt good. I had a moment of concern when she was headed in the stretch, but she dug in very gamely and got her head in front at the wire. I'm very proud of her.”

The Red Carpet is the first of seven graded stakes run on turf at Del Mar for its final four days of the 2021 Bing Crosby Season.

There was an early 11 a.m. first post Thursday because of the holiday, but post will move to the regular 12:30 start for the remaining three days.

The track's elusive Pick 6 Single Ticket Jackpot Wager once again slipped through the bettors hands and its carryover reached $460,113. With three days left in the meet, there is the possibility that the massive pot could go forward all the way to closing day on Sunday when there would be a mandatory payout of the entire pool.

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Moquett Derby Dreaming As Trainer And Co-Owner Of Osbourne

Whitmore had been trainer Ron Moquett's stable star until the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and 2020 champion male sprinter was retired earlier this year because of a leg injury.

Now, another chestnut gelding will try to pick up the slack. Moquett said Tuesday morning that lightly raced Osbourne will make his 3-year-old and stakes debut in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Jan. 1, Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races.

A son of Oaklawn stakes winner Tapiture, Osbourne broke his maiden at seven furlongs Nov. 17 at Churchill Downs in his last start. Osbourne, in his only start, finished second to Howling Time in a maiden special weights sprint Sept. 25 at Churchill Downs. Howling Time returned to win the $200,000 Street Sense Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 31 at Churchill Downs to remain unbeaten in two lifetime starts.

“He's a good horse,” Moquett said, referring to Osbourne.

Moquett (Southern Springs Stables) co-owns Osbourne, who is now based at Oaklawn in advance of his scheduled two-turn debut in the one-mile Smarty Jones. The race previously had been run in mid to late January before all of Oaklawn's Kentucky Derby points races were moved up on the 2021-22 stakes calendar, including the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 2, in conjunction with Oaklawn opening in December for the first time in history. The Arkansas Derby is now five weeks before the Kentucky Derby. It had been three weeks since 1996.

“At the end of the day, that's what's great when Southern Springs owns them,” Moquett said. “We just do whatever the horse says. He came out of the race very good. We'll just point that direction and see what happens.”

Moquett owns Osbourne in a partnership that includes the estate of Floyd Sagely. A star football player during the early 1950s at the University of Arkansas, Sagely died three days before Osbourne's career debut. He was 89.

“Really cool dude, too,” said Moquett, who had trained approximately a year for Sagely. “He went to Ten Mile (Oaklawn's satellite training center about 25 miles east of Hot Springs) and saw his horses this summer. It was a shocking deal whenever he died because I had just got through seeing him.”

Moquett said he has two other horses for Sagely's estate – Trident Hit, who finished fourth in the $100,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds and up last Friday at Remington Park, and Massard, an unraced 2-year-old filly by champion Nyquist. Moquett said Massard is the name of the street Sagely resided on in Fort Smith, Ark.

The Smarty Jones will offer 17 points (10-4-2-1) to the top four finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Nominations close Dec. 17.

Moquett won the 2015 Smarty Jones with Far Right, who finished 15^th in the Kentucky Derby.

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Asmussen Gobbles Up Five Thanksgiving Day Wins At Churchill Downs

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen found another way into the record books.

Asmussen, the 56-year-old who collected win No. 9,446 on Aug. 7 at Saratoga to become North America's all-time win-leader among trainers, saddled what is believed to be a record five winners on a single card at Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving Day.in Louisville, Ky.

Records prior to 1991 are incomplete and no trainer had ever won more than four races in a day at the Louisville track since then. There have been eight four-win days since 1991 including five by Asmussen: Asmussen (July 4, 2004), Todd Pletcher (May 5, 2006), Asmussen (June 16, 2007), Asmussen (July 7, 2007), Kenny McPeek (Oct. 26. 2008), Mike Maker (June 2, 2013), Asmussen (May 4, 2019) and Asmussen (June 27, 2020).

On Thursday, Asmussen won with Generator ($5.60), Front Street ($2.80), Regal Retort ($6.60), Treaty of Paris ($21) and All in Sync ($5.80). He had a chance to add to his record in Race 10 but Dr. Jack finished sixth as the 2-1 favorite.

Asmussen, who is atop the Fall Meet trainer standings with 18 wins, is Churchill Downs' all-time win-leader with 819 victories and he is poised to collect his record-extending 25^th Churchill Downs training title when the 21-day meet concludes Sunday.

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Envoutante Upsets Bonny South Again In Falls City

It was déjà vu all over again for Three Chimneys Farm and Walking L Thoroughbreds' Envoutante as the 4-year-old filly upset favored Bonny South by six lengths in Thursday's $500,000 Falls City (Grade 2), the traditional Thanksgiving Day fixture for fillies and mares at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the second year in a row.

Trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Envoutante ran 1 1/8 miles over a sloppy track in 1:51.52 – the slowest since Dundalk Dust's 1:53.37 under similar conditions in 2011 – to become the first back-to-back Falls City winner since Screen Prospect in 1990-91.

Last year, Envoutante also beat 4-5 favorite Bonny South by six lengths in the Falls City but it was over a fast track in 1:49.11, which was the fastest Falls City since Silent Eskimo's stakes record of 1:48.85 in 1999.

Breaking from post three in the field of six fillies and mares, Envoutante saved ground and raced along the rail throughout the two-turn race. Black-Eyed Susan (G2) and Iowa Oaks (G3) winner Army Wife had a narrow advantage over Envoutante through the first half-mile of the race (:24.82 and :49.20) but the defending race champion took over with a five furlongs to run.

Around the final turn and six furlongs in 1:13.55, Army Wife continued to chase leader Envoutante as Audrey's Time and multiple graded stakes winner Bonny South loomed boldly with wide rallies. Audrey's Time drew even with Envoutante at the top of the stretch and Bonny's South came within a length, but Envoutante had plenty of energy left and quickly opened up in the stretch for the comfortable win in the 106^th running of the Falls City.

“Even though we were battling on the front end, down the backside she was still traveling very comfortably,” Hernandez Jr. said. “I knew going into the far turn and at the quarter pole my filly would have enough kick left in her for the stretch. She ran a great effort and repeated her race from last year's Falls City.”

Envoutante was the 5-2 third betting choice and paid $7.40, $3.80 and $2.80. Bonny South, the 8-5 favorite ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $2.80 and $2.40. Audrey's Time was another 3 ½ lengths back in third at odds of 21-1 under Corey Lanerie and paid $4.20.

Army Wife, High Regard and Crystal Ball completed the order of finish. Cheetara (CHI) was scratched.

Prior to Thursday's triumph, Envoutante finished fifth in the $500,000 Spinster (G1) at Keeneland. In May, she won the $150,000 Shawnee at Churchill Downs. Overall, she's won four of seven starts at the Louisville oval.

“She definitely likes Churchill,” McPeek said. “Brian did a fantastic job with her on the front end. When I looked up at the half-mile and saw (:49.20), I knew we were in a good spot. I'm sure her owners are celebrating at home with their families for Thanksgiving, so a special congratulations goes to them. We'll have to see what happens next for her. She had a date with Gun Runner if things didn't go well today but showed today she's still got it in her.”

With the Falls City win, Envoutante improved her record to 6-2-4 in 16 starts. Thursday's lofty $305,520 first prize jumped her earnings to $931,658.

Envoutante is a dark bay or brown daughter of Uncle Mo out of the Bluegrass Cat mare Enchante. She was bred in Kentucky by Jumping Jack Racing LLC.

Racing at Churchill Downs continues Friday with the popular day-after Thanksgiving card highlighted by the 147^th running of the $750,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) for older horses. The Clark goes as Race 11 of 12 at approximately 5:56 p.m. (all times Eastern). The first race is 1 p.m. There is a $195,484 jackpot carryover in the 20-cent Derby City 6, which covers Races 7-12.

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