February, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Champion Letruska ‘Very Strong And Very Happy’ Ahead Of 2022 Debut In Gulfstream’s Royal Delta

St. George Stable LLC's Letruska is scheduled to make her 2022 debut in Saturday's $150,000 Royal Delta (G3) at Gulfstream Park, where the Eclipse Award champion made an eye-opening U.S. debut a little over two years ago.

The Royal Delta, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for older fillies and mares, will headline Saturday's 12-race program at Gulfstream Park, where Saudi Derby (11.10 a.m.), Riyadh Dirt Sprint (11:50 a.m.) and Saudi Cup (12:40 p.m.) will be simulcast.

Undefeated in her first six career starts while establishing dominance in Mexico, Letruska made it abundantly clear in the Copa Invitacional del Caribe at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 8, 2019 that she had a future in the U.S.

“I knew that she was a racehorse, when I saw the way she ran in Mexico, I said, 'This horse has the capacity to do something special,'” trainer Fausto Gutierrez said. “But I never imagined something like this.”

Letruska defeated males by 4 ¼ lengths in the 1 ¼-mile stakes on the Classico del Caribe program for horses representing Latin American and the Caribbean. Sixteen races and eight graded stakes (four Grade 1 stakes) victories later, the 6-year-old daughter of Super Saver enters the Royal Delta as North America's older dirt female champion.

“It is very important. This is a horse that took all the steps to a championship. She came from a foreign country and arrived here. She took it step by step and finally last year she won six graded races, four Grade 1,” Gutierrez said. “She's a great horse.”

Letruska is 3-for-3 over Gulfstream's main track, having also won the 2020 Added Elegance and Rampart (G3) before going on to dominate her division last year. The Kentucky-bred mare captured the Houston Ladies (G3) at Sam Houston, Azeri (G2) and Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn, Ogden Phipps (G1) at Belmont Park, Fleur de Lis (G2) at Churchill Downs, Personal Ensign (G1) at Saratoga and Spinster (G1) at Keeneland. Her 2022 campaign ended on a sour note after she finished off the board in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar.

“After 13 months of travel, maybe she wasn't the same horse,” Gutierrez said.

Letruska will make her 2022 debut off a series of strong workouts at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“I'm very happy. She's had six weeks in Ocala and came back very strong and very happy,” Gutierrez said.

Letruska produced three 'bullet' works in a row before finishing her preparation for the Royal Delta with a five-furlong maintenance breeze.

“She can still run because she's in very good condition. I think this is the perfect spot to come back,” Gutierrez said. “After this race, we will probably go to the Apple Blossom. We need to defend that race. After that, we'll stay more in the Kentucky area.”

Jose Ortiz has the mount aboard Letruska, who is 2-for-2 aboard the homebred mare with whom he teamed for victories in the Ogden Phipps and Fleur de Lis.

Phoenix Thoroughbred III's Crazy Beautiful, also enters the Royal Delta with a strong record of performance over the Gulfstream track. The 4-year-old daughter of Liam's Map captured the 2021 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) following a second-place finish in the Davona Dale (G2) last season.

“She's won here going two turns, so I thought it was the best next step,” trainer Kenny McPeek said.

Crazy Beautiful went on to win the Summertime Oaks (G2) at Santa Anita and Delaware Oaks (G3) last season.

“She's just been a good filly all around. She's close to winning a million dollars,” McPeek said. “She's done well here this winter.”

Corey Lanerie has the call on Crazy Beautiful.

Augustin Stable's Into Vanishing, who finished second in a Jan. 21 optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream off a nine-month layoff; Arindel's Key Biscayne, a turf mare who won an off-the-turf stakes over the main track last summer; Steven Dwoskin's Helping Lisa D., an overnight handicap winner two starts back; Robert Baron's Family Time, an optional claiming allowance winner two races back; and Franco Meli's Il Malocchio, a multiple-stakes winner at Woodbine; are also entered in the Royal Delta.

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McPeek Making Plans To Send Breeders’ Cup Runner-Up Tiz The Bomb To Epsom Derby

Trainer Ken McPeek plans to send his Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Tiz the Bomb to Britain for the Epsom Derby on June 4, 2022, reports the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. As a prep race, Tiz the Bomb could also start in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on April 30.

“Tiz The Bomb won at Kentucky Downs, which is equivalent to a European turf course with the uphill and downhill,” McPeek told TRC. “He should be able to handle the contour of Epsom. “My fingers are crossed that he will be 100 per cent and ready to go at that period of time. We are long way away, but we are excited.”

The son of Hit It A Bomb made his sophomore debut on the dirt in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 5, finishing seventh while beaten 20 1/4 lengths. The Equibase chart indicates that Tiz the Bomb “raced two wide and out of contention early, and had no apparent mishaps.”

Last season, Tiz the Bomb broke his maiden in an off-the-turf contest on the dirt course at Ellis Park before traveling downstate to win the listed Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes on the European-style grass course. A winner next out on the Keeneland turf in the G2 Bourbon, Tiz the Bomb was beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Modern Games in the Breeders' Cup.

Since his start in the Holy Bull, Tiz the Bomb has returned to the work tab once: the colt recorded a half-mile breeze in 47.16 seconds over the Gulfstream dirt course on Feb. 20.

Tiz the Bomb raced last year for Phoenix Thoroughbreds. The group's founder, Amer Abdulaziz Salman, was accused of money laundering in a cryptocurrency scam. Abdulaziz has denied the allegations, but Phoenix has not raced in Britain since October of 2020 when the British Horseracing Authority issued a suspension on financial grounds.

Phoenix was listed as the colt's owner in his most recent start, the G3 Holy Bull, but Tiz the Bomb is listed in the Triple Crown nominations as being owned by McPeek's Magdalena Racing.

McPeek told TRC that Magdalena will be leasing Tiz the Bomb from Phoenix for both of his starts in Britain.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary.

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Equine Law Expert Bob Heleringer Talks Medina Spirit Ruling On Writers’ Room

This week, 296 days after the race was run, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ruled on the case of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, officially disqualifying winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) and elevating Mandaloun (Into Mischief) into first place. Additionally, the KHRC suspended trainer Bob Baffert for 90 days and Baffert's legal team quickly promised appeals to an administrative law judge. Bob Heleringer, a lawyer, law professor and the author of “Equine Regulatory Law”, joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss the merits of the KHRC's decision, whether Baffert horses will ultimately be able to run in this year's Derby and more.

Asked if Baffert has any argument for an appeal despite the drug overage being confirmed and against the rules, Heleringer said, “The regulatory side of this is different from the judicial side of it. The regulatory side tries to have [rules] in the starkest colors with no room for prevarication or obfuscation. They don't want these cases bogging down and getting away from the absolute part of the rule. So it's only when it moves to the judicial forum that there's a possible chance of some kind of prevarication as to why the rules should not strictly apply. And they'll base that on due process grounds, whether or not you're violating [Baffert's] rights if you take it to the absolute level that the regulatory people have. That's an argument that both of these Circuit Court judges in Frankfort will at least listen to.”

Baffert also has an interest in overturning the KHRC's suspension so that he can potentially run horses in the Derby, but he also would have to win an appeal against Churchill Downs Inc.'s two-year suspension of him, and he hasn't officially filed anything yet in that case. Heleringer was asked what Baffert's chances of racing in the Derby are.

“Right now, his chances are zero,” he said. “I'm kind of perplexed, like some other people, that he hasn't filed such a challenge yet. Maybe that's forthcoming, but it hasn't happened yet and time is dwindling. It looks like most of his owners have stayed with him, but these horses are winning significant races and not racking up any [Derby qualifying] points. Churchill Downs is resolute. So at some point, he's going to have to seek judicial intervention of some kind. It's going to get very interesting.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, West Point Thoroughbreds, XBTV, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reacted to The Jockey Club backing off of its 140-mare cap, appreciated a few performances from Saturday's Fair Grounds card and discussed the implementation of Category 1 interference rules in America. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The post Equine Law Expert Bob Heleringer Talks Medina Spirit Ruling On Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mandatory Payout Scheduled For Saturday’s Rainbow 6 At Gulfstream Park

A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool has been scheduled for Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed for $1.35 million Thursday, where the popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 16 racing days in a row following a mandatory payout on Jan. 30.

Thursday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, kicked off by a mile turf race for $50,000 claimers in Race 4. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Max K.O., who finished fourth in the Sunshine Turf last time out, is the morning-line favorite at 3-1 while dropping back into the claiming ranks. The Mike Maker-trained Order and Law is also dropping into claiming company after running competitively in stakes in his last four starts.

In the Race 8 feature, a mile starter allowance for older horses on Tapeta, Buenisimo, a winner of two of three starts on the all-weather surface, is scheduled to make his first for trainer Kelsey Danner, who has positive off-the-claim stats.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Gulfstream to Simulcast Saudi Cup, Saudi Derby, Riyadh Dirt Sprint

Mandaloun is scheduled to make his first start since being officially recognized as the 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner in Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup.

The Saudi Cup (12:40 p.m.), as well as the Saudi Derby (11:10 a.m.) and the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (11:50 a.m.) will be simulcast at Gulfstream Park prior to a 12-race live program that will get underway at noon.

The Brad Cox-trained Mandaloun, who was declared the winner of the Derby this week upon the disqualification of Medina Spirit, heads the U.S. contingent that includes Art Collector, Midnight Bourbon and Country Grammer.

The $150,000 Royal Delta (G1), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for older fillies and mares featuring the 2022 debut of Eclipse Award champion Letruska, will be featured on Saturday's card.

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