January, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hit the Road Works for Pegasus

Hit the Road (More Than Ready), aiming for the Jan. 29 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park, worked five furlongs in :58.40 (1/1) over the Santa Anita turf Sunday. The 5-year-old, trained by Dan Blacker, capped a four-race win streak with a win in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. last March. He has been off since a third-place effort in the GII City of Hope Mile S. last October. The nine-furlong Turf Invitational will be Hit The Road's first start beyond a mile.

Also working over the Santa Anita turf Sunday in preparation for an engagement on the World Cup card in Hallandale, Bodhicitta (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) went four furlongs in :47.00 (1/1). The 6-year-old mare trained by Richard Baltas for owner Calvin Nguyen, is expected to start next in the GIII Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational. Winner of the 2020 GII Yellow Ribbon H., Bodhicitta was second in the 2020 GI Gamely S. and third in that race in 2021. She was most recently second in the Jan. 1 GIII Robert J. Frankel S.

Working for the Pegasus Turf in Florida Sunday, Joseph Allen's Doswell (Giant's Causeway) went seven furlongs over the Palm Meadows turf in 1:22.95 (1/2). The Barclay Tagg trainee is coming off a front-running victory in the Dec. 18 GII Ft. Lauderdale S.

Three Diamond Farm's Atone (Into Mischief) and Calumet Farm's English Bee (English Channel), Pegasus Turf reserve invitees who finished second and third, respectively, in the Ft. Lauderdale, also breezed Sunday.

The Mike Maker-trained Atone breezed five furlongs in 1:01.14 (16/34) on dirt at Gulfstream, where Maker-trained Pegasus Turf invitee Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid) also breezed five furlongs on the main track in 1:01.91 (14/34). The Graham Motion-trained English Bee breezed six furlongs in 1:12.05 (1/2) on turf at Palm Meadows.

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2004 Cigar Mile Winner Lion Tamer Died In Jamaica in 2019

Lion Tamer, winner of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Racetrack in 2004, died in Jamaica at age 19 on September 3, 2019, due to a heart attack. The chestnut son of Will's Way had been standing stud at Orange Valley Estates in Trelawny, Jamaica since 2017 after standing for nine seasons at Clear Creek Stud in Louisiana.

“We loved him dearly. He was a kind and gentle stallion to work with and did his job with ease,” said Jacqui Henderson, manager of Orange Valley Estates. “He will always have a place in the hearts of all at Orange Valley.”

Trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Michael Tabor, Lion Tamer was ridden by Jose Santos to be the upset 12-1 winner of the 2004 Cigar Mile by 1 1/4 lengths over multiple graded stakes-winner Badge of Silver in a final time of 1:33.46.

Lion Tamer earned three other graded victories in his career, taking a trio of Grade 2's with wins in the Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park as a sophomore and the Richter Scale Breeders' Cup Sprint at Gulfstream and Commonwealth Breeders' Cup at Keeneland as a 4-year-old.

Lion Tamer also added two other Grade 1 placings to his resume at 5, finishing third in the Vosburgh and the Breeders' Cup Sprint, both at Belmont Park. Lion Tamer wrapped up his career with earnings of $1,000,727 and a consistent record of 8-3-2 from 20 lifetime starts.

At the time of his retirement to stud, Lion Tamer was the only millionaire standing in Louisiana, attracting the attention of breeders and covering 34 mares in his first year at Clear Creek. From nine American crops, Lion Tamer's top progeny include multiple stakes winner Heavy on Themister, stakes winner Win Lion Win, and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Southern Dude.

In January of 2017, Lion Tamer was transferred to Orange Valley Estates where he stood for three seasons prior to his death. His Jamaican crops include 3-year-old filly Golden Wattle, who defeated males to win Jamaica's richest juvenile race, the Supreme Ventures Jamaica 2-Year-Old [JM $4 million], on December 27.

Lion Tamer bred 20 mares in his final year at stud, producing a handful of foals that are now 2-year-olds working towards their debuts.

Out of the stakes-placed Olympio mare Tippecanoe Creek, Lion Tamer was bred in Kentucky by Paul Smith.

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Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf Could Lure Summer In Saratoga To Florida In Winter

Trainer Joe Sharp said he would like to run multiple stakes-winner Summer in Saratoga in the $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., on Jan. 29. He and co-owner Anderson Farms just want to make sure she fits.

“We're going to make a decision as it gets a little closer, but it's definitely under strong consideration,” Sharp said. “From what I'm gathering, it looks like her (handicapping) numbers will be pretty competitive in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf. As long as we're both comfortable taking a shot, that might be what we do.”

Summer in Saratoga was fresh off a victory for then-owner Highlander Training Center in Keeneland's Grade 3 Dowager Stakes when the mare was sold for $630,000 at Fasig-Tipton's November sale. Sharp figured that probably was the last time he'd see the daughter of 2007 Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun. However, Anderson Farms owner David Anderson sent her back to Sharp. In her first and so far only start for her new owners, Summer in Saratoga won the $75,000 Blushing KD Stakes at the New Orleans Fair Grounds.

“Obviously you hope it would work out the way it did,” Sharp said of being able to keep Summer in Saratoga in his barn. “At that price range where she was expected to sell, most people would be purchasing her as a broodmare prospect. There was no guarantee you were going to get somebody who would want to continue to race her, let alone trust us to have her again. It really all came together nicely.”

Sharp had never before met David Anderson, who campaigns the now 6-year-old mare in the name of his farm in Ontario, Canada, and with Narola LLC. Success would come quickly, but not before facing a speed bump.

“We actually sent her up to New York,” Sharp said. “She got scratched in the paddock; she kind of sat down behind. So we brought her down to the Fair Grounds. She got herself back together and ran huge the other day. Corey (Lanerie, her regular jockey) happened to be in town. He knows her so well. It all worked out, basically first start for the new connections to get a win.”

Whether Summer in Saratoga races a full season or races a time or two before being bred would appear up to the 6-year-old mare.

“It's on a start-by-start basis, Sharp said. “From what I understood from Dave, as long as she's performing at a level that can add to her resume, then I think he's content to move forward with racing.”

Sharp has had Summer in Saratoga for all but her first two races. That span encompasses her seven victories, four coming in stakes – including in three of her last four starts.

“Honestly, this moment right now is probably my favorite version of Summer in Saratoga that I've been around,” he said. “There are probably a lot of different factors contributing to that, but mainly maturity. She has that being about her of a good horse that's very alpha and very confident. She makes my job easy.”

While Sharp's main winter base of the Fair Grounds has a series of turf stakes for fillies and mares, those purses don't come close to Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf's $500,000.

“The Fair Grounds series has been good to us over the years,” Sharp said. “But we get spoiled in the spring, summer and fall with the purse structure in Kentucky. So it's nice to have some big purse money to run for in January if you can be competitive. So we're grateful to Gulfstream for putting that on.”

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‘Amazing’ 9-Year-Old Rated R Superstar Could Make Fifth Start In Upcoming Razorback

Danny Caldwell recorded his second career Oaklawn stakes victory Saturday and he used an old script to do it.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Oaklawn's four-time leading owner said. “That's probably not been done much.”

Caldwell struck again with millionaire Rated R Superstar ($53.80), who collared front-running Mucho on the outside near the wire to win the one-mile race for older horses by a neck under David Cabrera. Caldwell also won the 2017 Fifth Season with another 9-year-old gelding, Domain's Rap, who, like Rated R Superstar, was making his seasonal debut in the race.

On behalf of Caldwell, trainer Federico Villafranco claimed Domain's Rap and Rated R Superstar for $10,000 and $50,000, respectively, the latter coming last January at Oaklawn.

“I was actually thinking about an allowance race for him this time, bringing him back off a layoff,” Caldwell said. “But he was doing so good and Freddy told me: 'He's doing as good as he's ever been doing in our barn, coming off the layoff.' He was fresh and seemed like he was ready.”

Rated R Superstar hadn't started since finishing second in a Sept. 11 allowance race at Remington Park. Caldwell said the gelding came out of the race with a minor splint bone issue, necessitating a short break from training. Rated R Superstar had five published workouts since Dec. 2, the last two coming at Oaklawn, in advance of the Fifth Season.

Last entering the backstretch, Rated R Superstar zoomed past most of the field along the rail to reach contention at the half-mile pole. Rated R Superstar had to wait briefly on the second turn before Cabrera guided the gelding to the outside, three-wide, approaching the quarter-pole. Rated R Superstar wore down a stubborn Mucho in the short run to the wire (mile races at Oaklawn begin and end at the sixteenth pole).

Rated R Superstar's winning time of 1:37.16 was the fastest since the Fifth Season was shortened from 1 1/16 miles to a mile in 2020, when the race was split. Rated R Superstar ran sixth in the second division in 2020. The track was fast Saturday.

“The pace set up well for us and he's a late runner,” Caldwell said. “David made a good move on the backside here to get him up in there. We didn't want to get shuffled back and end up going 15-wide. So, he made that move up the rail and I'm thinking, 'I hope we didn't move too quick.' But I could tell he still had some horse. Luckily, they kept going and we had an opportunity down the stretch to run them down.”

The victory was the 10th in 57 lifetime starts for Rated R Superstar and raised his career earnings to $1,271,014. He is a five-time stakes winner.

Rated R Superstar has been an ATM throughout his lengthy career, bankrolling $518,367 and becoming a multiple Grade 3 winner in his first 30 starts for trainer Kenny McPeek. Rated R Superstar made 18 starts for trainer Cipriano Contreras after being claimed for $62,500 in November 2018 at Churchill Downs.

Highlighted by a victory in the $350,000 Essex Handicap for older horses in 2019 at Oaklawn, the gelding earned $363,656 before Contreras lost him to Caldwell almost a year ago. In nine starts for Caldwell and Villafranco, Rated R Superstar has made $388,991 and posted three victories, including the $175,000 Governor's Cup Stakes Aug. 20 at Remington Park.

“Amazing,” Caldwell said.

Oaklawn's two-turn stakes series for older horses continues with the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 12. Rated R Superstar has already started four times in the Razorback, finishing sixth for McPeek in 2018, third for Contreras in 2019, seventh for Contreras in 2020 and fifth for Villafranco last year.

“We'll see,” Caldwell said of another potential Razorback start. “He'll tell us.”

Rated R Superstar is a son of 2008 Oaklawn allowance winner and 2009 champion sprinter Kodiak Kowboy.

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