November, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Bender Memorial Among Five Sprints In Friday’s Stronach 5

Five sprint races, including the $75,000 Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial featuring multiple graded stakes-placed Double Crown and nine-time stakes winner Whereshetoldmetogo, comprise Friday's Stronach 5.

The popular wager with a low 12-percent takeout begins at 3:32 ET at Laurel Park and will conclude at Golden Gate Fields at 4:48 ET.

Laurel's seventh race will kick off the sequence, a $40,000 waiver claiming event for 2-year-olds at seven furlongs. The tepid 3-1 favorite is Lael Stable's Hand Gesture, who will break from post 11 after finishing third in his debut at 5 ½ furlongs earlier this month at Laurel. The son of Diving Rod will have Mychel Sanchez riding. Mugsy Malone, trained by Gary Contessa, goes out after a third-place finish last time out at Delaware. Baton goes first time out after being claimed at Keeneland for $50,000 by Michael Pino. Highland Dream is a first-time starter leaving from the rail for trainer James Lawrence and jockey Victor Carrasco.

The Stronach 5 stays at Laurel for the second leg, the $75,000 Bender Memorial at seven furlongs. Whereshetoldmetogo is the 3-1 favorite. The Brittany Russell-trained 6-year-old has won five of seven races at Laurel and is three for five at the distance. The son of El Padrino won the New Castel at Delaware last out. Jevian Toledo has the mount. Double Crown placed in last year's Chick Lang (G3) and Smile Sprint (G3) and was fifth in this summer's Smile. The 4-year-old finished second last time out in the Maryland Million Sprint. Air Token, the winner of the sprint at odds of 7-1, also returns in the Bender. Multiple stakes winner Alwaysmining will break from the rail for trainer Cathal Lynch.

The third leg of the sequence will be Golden Gate's second race, a claiming event at 5 ½ furlongs for fillies and mares. Miss Ski goes out first time off the claim for trainer Jonathan Wong after winning against similar earlier this month. Lyrically Violent returned from a near year layoff to win earlier this month for trainer Bill McLean, who will also saddle Lacey's Rainbow.

The Stronach 5 returns to Laurel for Race 9, another $40,000 maiden waiver event for 2-year-olds. Royal Spy, second in his debut Nov. 6 for trainer Linda Albert, is the 9-5 favorite. Lacey Gaudet saddles Free Square, who cuts back in distance after finishing third last time out around two turns. Wired In makes his debut breaking from the rail for trainer Mary Eppler.

Golden Gate's third race serves as the conclusion to the Stronach 5. Maiden claimers 3-year-old and up will go six furlongs. Mystic Traveler and Mr Botanicals enter off second-place finishes last time out against similar while Union Bliss drops a bit in company while hoping the eighth start is the charm to break your maiden.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One –Laurel Race 7: (11 entries, 7 furlongs) 3:22 ET, 12:22 PT
Leg Two –Laurel Race 8: (10 entries, 7 furlongs) 3:53 ET, 12:53 PT
Leg Three – Golden Gate Race 2: (7 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:18 ET, 1:18 PT
Leg Four – Laurel Race 9: (11 entries, 7 furlongs) 4:25 ET, 1:25 PT
Leg Five –Golden Gate Race 3: (11 entries, 6 furlong) 4:48 ET, 1:48 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

The post Bender Memorial Among Five Sprints In Friday’s Stronach 5 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Art Sherman, Trainer of Beloved Two-Time Horse of the Year California Chrome, to Retire

When California Chrome began collecting adoring fans, he couldn’t have had a better trainer than Art Sherman, who has announced that he will retire from training at the end of the year. Not only did Sherman do a magnificent job training the flashy chestnut to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown and a host of other major races, he always had time to talk to the horse’s fans.

Half-Sister To Essential Quality, Famed Headlines Saturday’s Golden Rod Stakes

Godolphin's 2-year-old filly Famed, the half-sister to champion colt Essential Quality, will face off against Susan Moulton's dominant 10 ¾-length winner of the $200,000 Rags to Riches Sandstone in Saturday's $400,000 Golden Rod (Grade 2), a race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod will award the Top 4 fillies points on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward the May 6 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). The Golden Rod, which goes as Race 10 at 5:27 p.m., is one of four stakes events on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” program from Churchill Downs. The others are the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), $200,000 Lively Shively and $200,000 Fern Creek. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Brad Cox, Famed has been well-backed in both of her two-career starts. She broke her maiden last out at Keeneland by 7 ¾ lengths at odds of 2-5. In her debut, the Uncle Mo filly finished second as the 4-5 favorite against 45-1 longshot Sweet Dani Girl. Famed will be ridden by Florent Geroux from post the rail.

The Kenny McPeek-trained Sandstone has won her last two races by a combined 19 ¾ lengths under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. The filly by Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense debuted at 5 ½ furlongs in late May and finished fifth, beaten 7 ¾ lengths to stablemate and eventual $150,000 Debutante Stakes winner Behave Virginia. In her second start, at one-mile, Sandstone dusted her rivals at odds of 5-1. Her first start around two-turns was the Rags to Riches, the local prep to the Golden Rod, where she was the slight 5-2 upset winner over Yuugiri. Hernandez will once again have the call from post No. 4.

The full field for the Golden Rod from the inside out (with jockey and trainer):

Famed (Geroux, Cox)
Cancel This (Joel Rosario, Dale Romans)
Secret Oath (David Cohen, D. Wayne Lukas)
Sandstone (Hernandez, McPeek)
Hal's Dream (Corey Lanerie, McPeek)
Yuugiri (Tyler Gaffalione, Rodolphe Brisset)
Dream Lith (Ramon Vazquez, Robertino Diodoro)
Code for Success (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)

Wagering is available online at www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

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Undefeated Howling Time Takes On Juv. Turf Runner Up Tiz The Bomb In Kentucky Jockey Club

The Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes Saturday from Churchill Downs where Albaugh Family Stables' undefeated colt Howling Time, the winner of the $200,000 Street Sense four weeks ago, tops an ultra-competitive cast of 14 colts and geldings that entered the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade 2).

The 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club will award points to the Top 4 finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward a spot in the starting gate in the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). The race will share the Saturday spotlight with its counterpart for 2-year-old fillies, the $400,000 Golden Rod (G2). The Golden Rod will award the same scale of points to the Top 4 finishers for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

The Kentucky Jockey Club will go as Race 11 of 12 with a post time of 5:56 p.m. First post is 1 p.m. Along with the Kentucky Jockey Club and the Golden Rod (Race 10), the Saturday program also features the inaugural runnings of the 6 ½-furlong $200,000 Lively Shively in Race 9 and $200,000 Fern Creek for fillies in Race 12.

Howling Time enters the Kentucky Jockey Club unblemished in two career starts for trainer Dale Romans. The colt by Not This Time cruised to a 3 ¼-length victory in the Street Sense, the local prep for the Kentucky Jockey Club on “Stars of Tomorrow I.” The Kentucky-bred broke his maiden at first asking in September when he rallied from six lengths off the early pace for a 1 ½-length victory at odds of 5-1.

“We always thought he showed some promise in his training,” Romans said. “He was really impressive breaking his maiden back in September and proved it wasn't a fluke winning the Street Sense. His looks remind me a lot of his sire. He's got the size and stride that make them similar.”

Howling Time will once again be ridden by Joe Talamo from post No. 5.

“It seems like every race he keeps improving,” Talamo said. “Dale said he's doing even better going into this race than the last one. He has the right mind to him. Coming out of a sprint in his first start he had every right to get tired going two turns for the first time but he was all class. That's half the battle right there, especially with a young horse. He sure passed the test.”

One of the other top contenders Howling Time will face in the Kentucky Jockey Club is Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper's 6 ½-length Saratoga debut winner Classic Causeway. Trained by Brian Lynch, Classic Causeway was the 9-5 favorite in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) but after breaking from post 13, he tired late and settled for third behind accomplished juveniles Rattle N Roll and Double Thunder.

“He's always been a horse that breaks sharp from the gate,” Lynch said. “We knew that going into the debut so it didn't really surprise us he broke on top like he did but it's always a pleasant surprise to see them win that impressively. Last out in the Breeders' Futurity, he was hung wide from the gate and he battled pretty hard on the lead through fast fractions. I thought he gamely held on for third after the field closed in on him. Going into this start I've been trying to get him to relax a little bit in his training. I've worked him behind horses and in company so he doesn't have to be on the engine.”

Joel Rosario has the call on Classic Causeway from the rail.

Trainer Kenny McPeek entered a duo of budding stars in the Kentucky Jockey Club: Phoenix Thoroughbreds' $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) runner-up Tiz the Bomb and Lucky Seven Stable's eye-catching 5 ½-length debut winner Smile Happy.

“Tiz the Bomb was impressive last out at Del Mar after dealing with all of the pre-race incidents in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf,” McPeek said. “He's handled really anything we've thrown at him so far so going back to the dirt shouldn't be a problem for him.”

Brian Hernandez Jr. will have the mount on Tiz the Bomb from post 6. Hernandez rode Smile Happy last out at Keeneland for his victory in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight. Corey Lanerie will ride the Runhappy colt from post 8.

Another undefeated colt that entered the Kentucky Jockey Club is C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's Florida-invader White Abarrio. The Saffie Joseph-trained colt is perfect in his young career from two starts at Gulfstream Park with a 6 ¾-length victory in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight and a four-length front-running score in a first-level allowance at one-mile. Florida-based jockey Edgard Zayas, who rode White Abarrio to his allowance victory, will travel to Churchill Downs for the mount from post 10.

Here's the complete field for the Kentucky Jockey Club from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

Classic Causeway (Rosario, Lynch)
Guntown (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen)
Rich Strike (Rafael Bejarano, Eric Reed)
Texas Red Hot (Julien Leparoux, Randy Morse)
Howling Time (Talamo, Romans)
Tiz the Bomb (Hernandez, McPeek)
Vivar (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox)
Smile Happy (Lanerie, McPeek)
Red Knobs (Ricardo Santana Jr., Romans)
White Abarrio (Zayas, Joseph)
Ready Pursuit (Martin Garcia, Jerry Antonuik)
Ben Diesel (Jon Court, Dallas Stewart)
Mannix (IRE) (Edwin Gonzalez, Mark Casse)
Call Me Midnight (Chris Landeros, Keith Desormeaux)

Wagering is available online at www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

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