January, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pinky Ring Bling, Texas Thunder Win Texas Stallion Stakes At Sam Houston

The first two stakes of the 2022 Sam Houston Race Park Thoroughbred season were contested on Thursday afternoon with Pinky Ring Bling living up to his post-time favoritism in the $75,000 My Dandy and Texas Thunder breaking her maiden in the $75,000 Darby's Daughter. The Texas Thoroughbred Association sponsors the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series (TSSS), a set of races for progeny of nominated Texas-based stallions. The series features three sets of races, each split into two divisions (colts/geldings and fillies) for a purse of $75,000 per division. The races honor notable Texas horses of the past.

A field of five colts and geldings entered the starting gate in the $75,000 My Dandy, but there was no denying Pinky Ring Bling who drew off to a 3 ¼ length victory under jockey Ernesto Valdez-Jimenez as the 2-5 favorite. He crossed the wire of the five and one-half furlong race in 1:05.67 over a fast main track.

Trainer Ronnie Cravens saddled the colt by Too Much Bling, who races for the Lone Star Racing Club. He ran third in the Texas Avenger at Lone Star Park and third in the Kip Deville at Remington Park last September. It marked the colt's first stakes win as well as the first for Cravens.

“He's just been getting better and better,” said Cravens. “He's come a long way since we purchased him (for $5,000) at the TTA Yearling Sale. I'd like to mention breeder Ronald Ellerbee, who passed away a couple days ago. He's been a longtime breeder and loved his horses.”

Grami's Boy dueled gamely for trainer Mindy Willis; had the lead briefly and was able to hold for second. Bodymoor Heath completed the trifecta, followed by Moro Code and Regal Prize.

This was the second victory in six starts for Pinky Ring Bling ($2.80) and the winner's check of $45,000 boosted his career earnings to $81,860.

My Dandy was a 1925 Texas-bred foal who boasted a lifetime record of 191 starts with 47 wins and earnings of $137,923. A true “iron horse”, he ran from 1927 to 1935 and in 1930 made 43 starts in a single year.

Five fillies entered the starting gate in the second feature of the day, the $75,000 Darby's Daughter with a big score by Carl Moore Management LLC's Texas Thunder, who lit up the tote board at 25-1.

Bred by Robert Francis, the filly by Bradester ran third in the Texas Stallion Stakes- Pan Zareta Division on June 13 at Lone Star Park before beginning her 2022 season here on January 6. Trainer Karen Jacks was hoping to see improvement from the chestnut filly, but was clearly wowed at her maiden-breaking performance tonight. Under Valdez-Jiminez, she went to the lead and would not be denied. She drew off by five lengths, winning in 1:05.46.

“I knew she had it in her,” said Jacks. “She likes a tighter racing surface, so with the rain we had, I wasn't sure how it would go today. But she's very talented and I'm very happy for Carl. We had this plan for her and look forward to the next Texas-bred stakes here.”

Valdez-Jiminez was pleased with winning both features and spoke about Texas Thunder, who rewarded her supporters with a win payout of $58.40.

Eagle Express was sent off the favorite and the Steve Asmussen-trainee ran a game second under jockey Stewart Elliott. Kim's Texas Bling, It's a Gee Thing and Amazonian Queen completed the order of finish.

Darby's Daughter made her racing debut in 1988, winning two stakes at Louisiana Downs, the Grade 2, Miss Grillo at Aqueduct and the San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar. She retired with an impressive record of five wins from 15 starts and earnings of $435,104.

Sam Houston Race Park will showcase additional stakes races for Texas-breds on Saturday, February 19 with Texas Preview Day featuring the five stakes and Saturday, March 26 when the northwest Houston racetrack presents Texas Champions Day with seven $100,000 stakes on the card.

Texas Thunder wins the Darby's Daughter division of the Texas Stallion Stakes Series

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Stakes Winning Colt Named For President Biden Entered In Two-Turn Allowance At Laurel

When The Elkstone Group homebred Joe captured the Maryland Juvenile Dec. 18 at Laurel Park, it provided founder Stuart Grant with an ideal Christmas gift to bestow the colt's namesake, a longtime family friend who also calls Delaware home.

“I don't know where it's displayed, but I know the President has a win photo from [Joe's] stakes win,” Grant said. “The Biden family and us have been close for 30 years. I'm hoping it's in the White House, but I don't know for sure.”

Joe, based at Laurel with trainer Mike Trombetta, is entered to make his sophomore debut in Sunday's fourth race, an optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going around two turns at about 1 1/16 miles. Regular rider Victor Carrasco gets the call from the rail in a field of six.

“He's doing great. We are bringing him along slowly. We'll look for the best spot for him,” Grant said. “Especially in a six-horse field, I don't really care where he is. If it was 12 horses, I might not want the inside or the outside, but he's a good horse.”

Joe is also nominated to the first stakes in Maryland for 3-year-olds, the $100,000 Spectacular Bid, sprinting seven furlongs. Originally scheduled for Jan. 22, it is one of six stakes worth $550,000 in purses that was pushed back to Saturday, Jan. 29 at Laurel.

“With him being a Maryland-bred, there's not much difference in the purse money to us than the stakes. Right now we may wind up being in the allowance and we'll just see what happens,” Grant said. “Assuming the track is good and everything's in good shape, I don't know why we wouldn't run him there. There are plenty of stakes. He's a young horse, and we want to build his confidence. We think he can do really good things. We're taking it easy with him.”

By Declaration of War out of the Arch mare Battle Bridge, Joe is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed turf router Irony of Reality who was unveiled in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight turf sprint Oct. 24 at Laurel, where he got bumped at the break and wound up fifth in a field of nine. Moved to the dirt and stretched out to a mile for his next start, Joe sat just off the lead before taking over after six furlongs and drawing clear to a 3 ¼-length triumph Nov. 21.

“We liked him. Donna Freyer down at the Camden Training Center breaks them for me and she always liked him,” Grant said. “He didn't get up to Mike that quickly. It took him a little bit longer to develop. We don't push horses unnecessarily, and when Mike got him he was really happy with him. He's the one who said [he'd] like try him first on turf while we still have turf. We ran on that once and we brought him back to the dirt. Mike's done a good job.”

Next up was the seven-furlong Maryland Juvenile, where Joe found himself trailing all but two of 12 horses in the early going before uncorking a steady rally on the far outside to gain the lead in mid-stretch and win by 1 ½ lengths in his stakes debut.

“It's tempting after a stakes win like that to say, 'OK, go put him on the [Kentucky] Derby trail.' I'm not sure that's the best thing for this horse, so we're going to continue to bring him along slowly,” he added. “We're going to target the right spots. We'll move from this month's race to presumably a stakes race. If he wins the allowance, he won't have a lot of choices. We'll put him in some overnight stakes and see how he does with that kind of company. It's a long summer with a nice 3-year-old. We'll find some good places for him.”

Joe is actually the second horse Grant named for Biden. He also bred V P Joe, a son of Sky Mesa that won three of 21 starts between 2009 and 2012.

“This one, I tried to name Ridin With Biden but someone took it,” Grant said. “I said, 'We'll just go with what we call him,' and lo and behold it was available.”

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Colic Claims Dam of Vequist

A fairytale, and an authentic story of “true love”, came to a heartbreaking end Thursday when Tom and Sue McGrath of Swilcan Stable lost Vero Amore (Mineshaft), the rags-to-riches dam of champion Vequist (Nyquist).

Her abrupt surrender to colic came as a terrible shock: Vero Amore was in her prime, having just turned 11, and was carrying a sister to the 2020 Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old filly. Tom McGrath stressed his thanks to Brookdale Farm, where she was a long-term boarder, for their characteristically alert and prompt attention; and also huge sympathy for Glenn Bennet, a great friend who had bought into the mare only last summer.

That investment has obviously proved desperate luck, for Bennet, but equally there could be no deeper grief over Vero Amore than for McGrath, who raced her in the Swilcan silks after trainer Robert E. “Butch” Reid Jr. found her for just $15,000 at the Timonium 2-Year-Old Sale in 2013. She managed serial stakes placings, including second in the GII Black-Eyed Susan S.

McGrath believes that her third foal, from the first crop of Nyquist, was never even vetted when a $120,000 RNA at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Vero Amore herself, after all, was responsible for the only black-type under the first three dams. After her debut at Parx, however, there was a lot more interest and he accepted an approach from Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel while retaining a leg. McGrath duly enjoyed the ride as Vequist won the GI Spinaway S. by nearly 10 lengths and ran second in the GI Frizette S. before confirming herself class leader at the Breeders' Cup. Though confined to a single sophomore start, she joined the Spendthrift broodmare band at Fasig-Tipton in November for $3.4 million.

But just as the unpredictability of the Thoroughbred yielded this fantastic dividend, now McGrath has had to absorb this “gut punch” out of nowhere.

“Yes, it's a double-edged sword, isn't it?” he reflected Friday. “She was a blue-collar girl, picked up for $15,000, and yet she's got the moxie to do all that. I don't want for much in life, but I also grew up blue-collar–and this kind of thing just doesn't happen. People spend incredible amounts of money trying to duplicate what we did on a shoestring.”

He remembers Reid calling and saying: “Got a cheapie for you!”

“But he loved her,” McGrath recalls. “And with these horses, you start the dream machine on the first ticket. You punch the clock and start dreaming–and she never let us down. There could be no more perfect animal. She was a sweetheart, she did everything right, she was a great mom. She didn't know what she cost, she was an all-star. The places she took us, it was just crazy.”

Vero Amore was not very big, but she was a golden nugget: all heart.

“It was like a passion she had,” McGrath said. “That way she thrived with her racing, the way she would always just try. That was what made me want to carry on with her. You don't just go breed, without a notion. It's not cheap: you get your monthlies, your stud fees, and it's a two- or three-year commitment. But even setting Vequist aside, this has been a whole other side of the business that a lot of people don't get to experience, and it's been wonderful to see the way people put their lives and emotions into it all. And I'm very proud of what she achieved.”

Foremost among those dedicated horsemen have been Fred Seitz and his team at Brookdale, who had some tough calls to make this week.

“The first one was a shock, for sure,” McGrath said. “But it's typical of the way they operate that they were all over it before anyone would normally be concerned. She just wasn't regular, and he was like, 'I don't like this, mares have super immunity when they're carrying, I want to send her get to looked at.' And where better could she have been than Rood and Riddle? And it did look like she was getting better, she was on fluids, she seemed to be stabilizing. But then it suddenly went the other way.”

Happily Vero Amore's propensity to throw fillies has allowed McGrath to keep all bar one of her other daughters–including 'TDN Rising Star' Mainstay (Astern), who finished runner-up in the GIII Schuylerville S. on her second start last year, and is closing on a return to the track. So perhaps there may yet be a legacy beyond whatever Vequist can do for Spendthrift.

“Her foal was a filly, so a full sister to Vequist, and that would have been something,” McGrath said. “After you take a punch you've got to get up off the canvas, dust yourself off, and walk back to the corner. But we're taking a moment out to remember her, for sure, because she was absolutely special. Sometimes when you pass the mile marker, you have to just stop, realize the beauty that's been around you, and count your blessings. That's what today is all about.”

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This Side Up: Back to the Future on Lecomte Day

Fastest two minutes in sport? You'll excuse us a bitter laugh here. By the time Mandaloun (Into Mischief) leaves the gate Saturday for the GIII Louisiana S., he'll be 382,968 minutes into a GI Kentucky Derby without end. And, with no sign of anyone putting their attorneys back in the holster, it's plainly going to be a while yet before we know whether Mandaloun will finally be anointed the 147th winner of a race that drives so many millions of dollars of investment in our industry.

(Listen to this column as an audio podcast by clicking the button below.)

As things stand, we're potentially looking at one of the luckiest animals in Turf history: a dual Grade I winner who has yet to pass the post first in a Grade I race. He was last seen, of course, in that dramatic Haskell S., which fell into his lap after Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) was disqualified for his tangle with Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow). The latter, conversely, has accumulated a dispiriting sequence of near-misses since his last visit to the winner's circle, on this card last year, in the GIII Lecomte S.

Given our ongoing travails, and the resulting perceptions among the wider public, our community owes a great debt to Midnight Bourbon for his balletic recovery from the brink of catastrophe at Monmouth Park. As a potential lifeline for the precarious Man o' War line, moreover, he should in due course offer another valuable service in the replication, at stud, of that extraordinary athleticism.

We're not going to run out of sons of Into Mischief any time soon, after all. One way or another, then, a lot of neutrals will be heading to Midnight Bourbon's corner as the two rivals each attempt a personal reset in what will, on the anniversary of their first, be their sixth showdown.

But you have to feel sympathy for Mandaloun, too. At the best of times, finishing second in the Derby is a bittersweet distinction. It's one that has been shared by some great names, for instance Native Dancer and Nashua within a couple of years of each other, as well as by many that can only make you scratch your head. And nobody, regardless, would want to satisfy a lifetime quest in quite this way, as connections of Country House (Lookin At Lucky) will doubtless attest.

On the day, their horse proved better equipped for the defining challenge of the American Thoroughbred than all bar one of 20,000-odd other foals in his crop. Country House was desperately unlucky to be denied any further opportunity of wresting attention from that ever-distracting horse, Maximum Security (New Year's Day). Set for a relaunch at four, only to be derailed by laminitis in February, he duly finds himself standing on most generous terms (despite being inbred to the matriarch No Class) at Darby Dan. If there's any justice, someday one of his sons will secure him overdue respect in the Derby.

Midnight Bourbon's last visit to the winner's circle was in the 2021 Lecomte | Hodges Photography

If that happens, it won't be through a superior preparation. Country House was a Bill Mott masterpiece. It was only in this equivalent week that he broke his maiden; he then contested the second and third legs of the New Orleans trial series, catching the eye of many a wiseguy handicapper with the promise of better yet in the extreme test awaiting at Churchill.

In the process he contributed to the striking vigor of the Fair Grounds sophomores, in recent times. Last year the GII Louisiana Derby produced four of the first six on the first Saturday in May. True, these included a Californian shipper, but the overall strength of the Crescent City cohort certainly heightens interest in the return of Proxy (Tapit), who went missing after being sandwiched between Midnight Bourbon and Mandaloun in both the Lecomte and the GII Risen Star. Some really heartening breezes this winter allow us to hope that Proxy might yet live up to his name, and plug a gap for the Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) barn.

But no graduate of the Fair Grounds Classic rehearsals has lately made a greater impact than Gun Runner–for whom the Lecomte, through Pappacap and Cyberknife, now represents the first big test of the theory that his stud debut was especially spectacular because his stock will emulate the way he thrived with maturity himself.

Pappacap prior to his second in the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile | Horsephotos

As his second-ever winner, Pappacap was among the most precocious of the surprisingly precocious gang that secured Gun Runner the freshman title; but the Rustlewood Farm homebred can be expected to consolidate on both sides of his pedigree. His mother achieved her only graded stakes placing at the end of her third campaign; his second and third dams, unusually enough, are both by sons of that doughty influence Roberto; while his fourth is by another in Pleasant Colony. In other words, this is a horse bred to stick around. (He also has the honor of starting out No. 1 on colleague T.D. Thornton's TDN Derby Top 12.)

It's a big day, then, for the Winchell family, who stand Gun Runner with Three Chimneys and will be hoping to see Midnight Bourbon elaborate his own stud credentials. Because they also present the most obvious danger to Gun Runner's Lecomte pair in Epicenter (Not This Time), whose apt emergence in the Gun Runner S. over Christmas showed him to be very comfortable with pouring the speed coals into this hot surface.

Throw into the mix Trafalgar (Lord Nelson), a promising flagship for his classy hometown barn, and this looks another instructive edition of the Lecomte S. I love the cyclical nature of the Classic trail, with all its familiar staging points, coast to coast; and the return to the same card of two of the 2021 protagonists marks another ring through the trunk of the great old Triple Crown tree.

Because it's never really just about those two breathless minutes in Louisville. Those are the tiny apex of a huge pyramid that spreads out through the patient dreams of so many different people, past and present.

With everything that's going on–condensed by the tragedy of the horse that held off Mandaloun in the Derby–we must always conduct ourselves with due respect for the generations of predecessors who made our sport what it is. This race, remember, is named for the only horse ever to beat Lexington. And if we don't prove worthy of our heritage, in the perennial quest for a Derby colt, someday we will suddenly find that it's two minutes to midnight.

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